Why Financial Wellness Should be Your Goal

Employees have spoken; financial guidance is one of their top needs, and innovative employers are already building financial wellness into their benefits strategies to address it. Why? Because when employers focus on helping their employees reach their financial goals, everyone wins.

What Are Employees Saying?

According to a recent MetLife study, employees of all ages and life stages are saying that finances remain their top concern:

• Half of employees say that they live paycheck to paycheck.¹
• More than half (52%) of employees think they will have to postpone their retirement because of their financial situation.¹
• A third of employees say their financial stress makes them less productive at work.¹

Employees are looking to their employer to help them turn things around. In fact, over half (52%) of employees think that “employers have a responsibility for employee financial well-being,” and 1 in 5 employees think financial wellness is a “must-have” for employee benefits.¹

Unfortunately, only 44% of employees actually think “their employer cares about their financial well-being.”²

When Employees Win, Businesses Win

Although employees state that financial worries impact their health, relationships, work productivity, and their future, incorporating financial well-being into a workplace wellness program has never been easier and can swiftly make a positive impact on the lives of individuals and on company culture and productivity.

Employees who work with a financial professional and increase their financial knowledge can significantly reduce their stress, and they are more likely to take action.

After decades of providing financial wellness services and conducting over a million financial coaching consultations, MSA has seen amazing outcomes. On average, employees who work with an MSA Money Coach see results such as:

• 90% improvement when measuring financial stress levels,
• 30% decrease in negative health impacts,
• 4.4% increase in retirement contributions from annual salary,
• $4,928 decrease in debt,
• 54-point increase in credit score, and
• $890 increase in monthly discretionary income.³

On top of that, employees are also more likely to feel in control of and happy with their financial situation — they’re even more likely to feel happy about their employer.

How Employers Win

Along with the satisfaction of knowing that employees are getting relief from financial stress, employers also see significant outcomes in workplace productivity and company loyalty.

After working with a Money Coach, employees reported an increase of 1.9 hours, on average, in workplace productivity.³

Employees who receive financial wellness support also build goodwill towards their employer. According to a recent study by Morgan Stanley, over half (56%) of employees who use their financial wellness benefit say that they have positive feelings about their employer because of the benefit.⁴

74% of employees think it’s important for employers to provide financial wellness benefits.⁴

Financial Wellness for Your Workplace

MSA (My Secure Advantage) focuses on improving and maintaining financial wellness, and general well-being, through the multifaceted approach of education, coaching, and ongoing support for all financial topics. MSA can provide relief from financial stress by helping members and their loved ones make behavioral changes and master healthy financial habits.

Employees who use MSA appreciate the program and their employer for offering such a personalized and meaningful solution. As one employee said, “I think this is a fantastic benefit to employees. I know my past financial stress has affected my health, state of mind, and work performance. It is a very forward-thinking employer that understands that and is willing to provide a benefit to mitigate the issues.”

Talk with MSA about how you can bring financial wellness into your workplace, meet the needs of your employees, and achieve one of the most important goals for your workplace, financial wellness. Contact MSA at 888-724-2326.

¹“Thriving in the New Work-Life World.” MetLife’s 17th Annual US Employee Benefit Trends Study 2019. MetLife, n.d. Web. Accessed 10 February 2020.

²PwC’s 8th annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey, PwC US, 2019

³My Secure Advantage, Inc., January 2023. Based on MSA member self-reported data, when working with a coach on this specific issue, from 1/1/21 – 12/31/22.

⁴“Morgan Stanley Study Finds that Financial Wellness is an Opportunity to Reduce Employee Stress, Improve Retention and Engagement, and Differentiate Companies.” Morgan Stanley, 6 Jun. 2019. Web. Accessed 14 Feb. 2020.