Financial wellness programs are benefits that employers provide their employees to assist and support them beyond a normal paycheck. Increasingly, employers are discovering that providing these programs is crucial to their companies as a whole.
Why Financial Wellness in the Workplace Matters
Aside from the priceless peace of mind that financial wellness provides, employees who feel supported by their employers are more productive, and therefore, more profitable. When employees spend less time worrying about finances, they have more time to focus on work, which helps the company’s bottom line.
To assist you in developing your financial wellness package, we’ve listed 15 different programs below that support employees in various aspects of their financial lives:
- Retirement Plan A 2021 study discovered that employees consider retirement plans to be the most important part of financial wellness. When employers consider the stability that comes with having a plan for the future, this highlights the importance of a retirement planning benefit.
- Life Insurance Because life is unpredictable and employees care about the well-being of not only themselves but also their families, life insurance is another benefit that is worth considering for your program.
- Earned Wage Access The stress of paying for an unexpected expense can be overwhelming to employees, especially when their only option to pay for this expense is to take out a payday loan or max a credit card. Earned wage access can lessen this stress by allowing employees early access to the wages they have already earned.
- Stock Options If your company is publicly traded, stock options may be an effective way to give your employees a stake in the company’s success. With literal buy-in to the company, employees may feel more incentivized to be productive while on the job.
- Student Debt Assistance Student loan debt is a pressing concern for employees at all experience levels. By offering a program to help your team members pay off their student loans, you can show them that you value their overall financial wellness — not just their on-the-job production.
- 529 Matching 529, or qualified tuition plans, are tuition accounts with tax benefits when used to pay for qualified education expenses for a designated beneficiary. For employees with children, offering 529 matchings is a good way for employers to show an investment not just in the employee themself, but also their families.
- Health Savings Account Depending on your company’s health plan, including an HSA can be an effective method of offsetting high-deductible plans and giving your employees another way to make their health a priority.
- Professional Development Stipend Whether they want to further their education by earning another degree, or take classes towards a certification, assisting your employees with a professional development stipend demonstrates your willingness to invest in their overall wellbeing. It also results in a more educated and knowledgeable workforce.
- Commuting Assistance Gas prices and vehicle maintenance can really add up for employees who have to drive to work every day. Commute-related expenses may lead some to consider working closer to home, so offering some form of commuting assistance could encourage these good employees to stay with your company.
- Relocation Assistance If recruiting the top talent is important to your company, think about offering relocation assistance to potential future employees. This can help lessen the financial stress of relocation expenses, and it will show the prospective employee how much you value them and their abilities.
- Home Loan Assistance Although not a common benefit, providing assistance with home loans may be a good way to assist employees in times when they are experiencing other unexpected financial burdens.
- Caregiver Support Some employees have at-home stress related to caring for a dependent, such as a child or an older relative. As an employer, you can offer support in the form of paid caregiver days to help these employees manage the stresses that come with caring for their loved ones in need.
- Safety Net Funds While most of these financial wellness benefits may fit under the broad scope of a safety net, simply having funds that are available for employees to access in a financial emergency can give them peace of mind so that they don’t have to worry about coming up with funds should an unexpected expense arise.
- Financial Education Resources Offering employees resources to improve their understanding of finances is a great way to empower them to make better financial decisions on a day-to-day basis and strengthen their financial future in the process.
- Financial Counseling Sessions In addition to financial education, providing one-on-one sessions with a financial counselor can help employees to truly customize their financial planning for their unique circumstances.
