Answers to employers’ top financial wellness questions
How can financial wellness be defined?
It is all about optimising your own position and being in control of your finances. Managing day-to-day, month-to-month, and being financially resilient and protected will allow you to plan for the long-term and make educated, informed decisions.
Could you provide three top tips to support your employees with their finances?
Employers need to start by defining what they are trying to achieve with their people strategy. They are then able to adopt a strategy-first approach and not just opt for the product ‘remedy’ which looks the ‘shiniest’. Finally, always remember that member journey and the experience is the key, so never neglect employee communications and engagement.
Do pensions fit into financial wellness?
They’re absolutely integral and form a key main pillar of the financial wellness strategies we help clients design. And, don’t forget about other long-term savings options too! There can be a perception that financial wellness is only for millennials because the phrase is trending at the moment, however the concept of looking after your financial health is nothing new and is universally applicable – financial stress is felt across demographics.
What do you think the challenges are with getting employees to really engage with financial wellbeing benefits?
Employers must make the offering relevant and also personalised to each employee’s situation because everyone will need or use the benefits for different reasons. Make sure that the financial wellness benefits are communicated to your employees in a simple and uncomplicated way to make it easier for them to understand and then engage.
How can I measure my ROI of financial wellness?
Employers should always take before and after primary research to measure employee sentiment; this is the acid test which can sit alongside more quantitative data sources such as reporting on benefit uptake and engagement levels for your benefits portal.
Does financial wellness is impact mental health?
Without a doubt, financial wellness has a direct impact on overall wellness. There’s a wealth of empirical evidence which proves the link, such as analysis by The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute – Overstretched, overdrawn, undeserved (2017).
To see more questions from the Q&A check out the #AskNeil thread. If you want to know more about financial wellness, you can view our why UK employers should lend a helping hand (2018) research.
The author is Neil Atkinson, head of proposition, consulting at Thomsons Online Benefits.
This article was provided by Thomsons Online Benefits.
