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Your Employer Might Help Improve Your Financial Fitness

Posted on July 14, 2015
Maybe there’s money under the mattress, because there doesn’t seem to be much in the bank. About half of households age 55 and older have no retirement savings, and many of them don’t have pensions, either. Financial education can empower people to improve their monetary decision-making and boost their economic health. We recently held a forum on the ways employers can help workers better plan for their financial future. Experts from government, the corporate and nonprofit sectors, and academia shared their insights. Employers are well-suited to provide financial education to their employees.
  • Employers already provide information about retirement and health benefits, and could offer additional information on other topics like budgeting, managing debt, improving credit, building an emergency savings fund, and understanding the financial impact of health care.
  • Employers have key information about employees’ lives—the timing of things like salary increases or the birth of a child—so they can target timely and appropriate financial education.
  • Employees generally trust their employers when it comes to providing financial information.
Workplace financial education benefits both employers and employees.
  • Money worries and financial stress can harm worker productivity, studies show.
  • Financial education can be an attractive recruiting tool and can improve retention by improving engagement and loyalty.
Money management and financial planning can be hard, but taking advantage of resources available to you can make it easier. And the sooner you start saving, the better off you’ll likely be. Ask your employer about financial education and resources today!
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