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24 May 2021
by Dawn Lewis

More than one-third of employers move to address employees’ financial concerns in 2021

Addressing employees’ money concerns is a top wellbeing priority for employers this year.

 

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Figures from REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Research 2021, published in conjunction with AXA Health, reveal that just over one-third (34%) of employers intend to tackle employees’ financial concerns this year. This is second only to implementing Long-Covid support.

Financial wellbeing was found to be the least developed area of wellbeing provision, with only 13% of employer respondents describing their financial wellbeing strategy as ‘mature’. An increased focus in this area will be welcome to employees, particularly given the impact of Covid-19 on many individuals’ finances.

However, despite the lack of established financial wellbeing strategies, 51% of employers said they provide access to general financial advice, a trend that has grown year on year since REBA’s first Employee Wellbeing Research report in 2016. In fact, the share of employers offering this kind of service to staff has almost doubled since then, when just over a quarter (29%) of respondents provided financial advice for staff.

In addition to general financial advice, this year’s research found that employers also offer:

  • debt management support – provided by almost two fifths of respondents
  • personalised financial education programmes – introduced by 17% of employers
  • general financial wellbeing programmes – offered by a further 42%.

The research suggests financial wellbeing is set for significant growth over the next 12 months and beyond, with more than a third (36%) planning to introduce generic programmes and a similar portion (32%) preparing to bring in some form of personalised financial education.

“The financial aspect is the least well developed pillar of employers’ wellbeing strategies although employer support, in the form of providing access to specialist advice, is on the rise. Still, its rate of expansion is slower than predicted,” states the report.

“Last year, REBA’s Wellbeing Research Report suggested that financial education would be one of the initiatives set for biggest growth in the short term. A total of 41% of employers said they intended to introduce financial education or guidance during 2020. However, our latest figures tell us those intentions were not acted upon, despite financial pressures on staff emerging as one of the key themes of the Covid-19 crisis.”

Although the growth of financial wellbeing has been slower than expected, the fact that many employers offer benefits in this area signals they are on the right track, but need further encouragement in integrating them with other domains that affect employee health.

Download a copy of the 72-page Employee Wellbeing Research 2021 (free to REBA Professional Members and all those working for REBA Associate Members).