Employees Seek Employer Resources for Financial Wellness and Emergency Savings

Despite remaining optimistic about their financial future, nearly two-thirds of employees are seeking advice on long-term savings and managing their personal finances today. The survey, conducted by Bank of America in partnership with the Bank of America Institute, found that workers are looking to their employers for guidance and resources on emergency savings, paying down debt, and overall financial wellness. Twice as many American workers today are seeking help with near-term financial needs compared to two years ago.

Key Takeaways:

• **Financial wellness benefits continue to matter to employees and employers:** More than 8 in 10 employers say that financial wellness resources help drive job satisfaction, productivity, and attract top talent. However, only 54% of larger employers offer financial wellness programs, and a third of smaller companies do not offer them.
• **Employees are struggling with emergency savings:** 53% of employees have not hit their emergency savings goal, with 62% of women and 44% of men citing living paycheck-to-paycheck as the primary reason. This is despite emergency savings being the second-most important financial goal for employees, trailing only saving for retirement.
• **Debt remains a significant challenge for employees:** 45% of employees say they lack emergency savings due to a focus on repaying debt. This is not surprising, considering 85% of employees carry some form of personal debt, with 58% carrying credit card debt specifically.
• **Retirement readiness varies by gender and life stage:** 59% of women feel on track toward their retirement goals compared to 72% of men. Half of employees (49%) wish they started saving for retirement at a younger age.
• **Equity awards are becoming a differentiator for employers:** 60% of employers say an equity award has been a differentiating factor when attracting and retaining talent. Nearly half of employees (48%) want their employer to add stock awards in the next few years.
• **Workplace benefits are increasingly a factor in retaining talent:** 24% of employees have recently left or considered leaving their company because of lacking workplace benefits, up from 15% in 2023.

Statistics:

• **68% of employees are optimistic about their financial future over the next three years.**
• **26% of the workforce is seeking help with emergency savings, paying down debt, and overall financial wellness, compared to 13% in 2023.**
• **53% of employees have not hit their emergency savings goal.**
• **62% of women and 44% of men cite living paycheck-to-paycheck as the primary reason for not hitting their emergency savings goal.**
• **85% of employees carry some form of personal debt, with 58% carrying credit card debt specifically.**
• **59% of women feel on track toward their retirement goals compared to 72% of men.**
• **49% of employees wish they started saving for retirement at a younger age.**

Sources:

• Bank of America
• Bank of America Institute
• Escalent
• Workplace Benefits Report
• Bank of America Corporation
• Bank of America Institute