Financial wellness in the workplace

Submitted by ROGER THOMAS, CHIEF WEALTH OFFICER/KS BANK

Let’s face it, financial literacy is a concern of many Americans today. In fact, in a 2018 FINRA survey, 53% of adults admitted to being financially anxious. Even worse, nearly four out of five employees, 78%, are getting distracted by financial stress at work. What is surprising is that half of these distracted employees are earning over six figure salaries annually.

Financial wellness is a growing concern amongst adults, as personal finance was not an emphasis of many traditional K-12 educational institutions. Many adults enter the workforce woefully unprepared for the financial burdens they face.

EMPLOYEES ARE SAVING LESS

As an employer, it is crucial to provide proper financial services to your employees. Why? For one, many employees rely on their workplace retirement plans and entitlements because they lack savings. A whopping 78% of adults live paycheck to paycheck and do not have any savings in reserve for emergencies. Anyone that has a basic understanding of inflation knows how frightening this statistic really is. A workplace retirement plan is the main source of wealth for a lot of employees. Employer workplace benefits can be instrumental in helping employees organize their finances.

While a large number of employees are reliant upon financial benefits from their employer, many of them are confused about their options. Roughly 41% of employees say open enrollment is “an extremely confusing process.” Many employees may not even be aware of the financial benefits they are offered. Employees are often so busy with their daily work they do not have time to analyze their financial options.

HELP IS WANTED

What should encourage employers is that employees are asking for help with their personal finances. Employee financial wellness is so important that most employees say it is a deciding factor of whether they stay at their job. According to 2019 employee financial wealth statistics, 60% of employees would be more likely to stay at a job if their employer offered financial wellness benefits. But just offering benefits is not enough for many. About 71% of employees would be comfortable discussing financial matters in the workplace with an unaffiliated financial professional.

TAKING ACTION

Having a dedicated financial professional guide your employees can benefit everyone. With so much changing in the world today, managing financial benefits can seem like a full-time job. That is why we believe it is important to have an informative adviser to help your employees navigate their financial journey.

To learn more, call KS Bank at 919- 938-2689.