Are your employees spending for a 100-year life?

As life expectancy continues to rise, Dr Tom Mathar, Head of Money:Mindshift looks at role of employers in fostering financial wellbeing.

We’re generally living longer – and that’s both a gift and a challenge for your employees. Longer lives mean more memories to be made, but potentially more money stresses too.

As life expectancy rises, the traditional models of life, financial planning and retirement are changing. It’s no longer ‘study, work, retire’ – and retirement no longer suggests the end of work, but the start of new adventures. But, with new adventures, comes new types of spending and saving.

For employers, fostering a workplace environment with financial wellbeing in mind could become crucial as you can help your employees live their longest lives with confidence and security.

By helping your colleagues paint a picture of their future, you can help them manage both their aspirations and financial responsibilities. All for a happier, longer life.

What living longer means

Living longer comes with more milestones to celebrate, as well as more opportunities to live life with joy and purpose at the forefront.

Aegon’s Second 50 research found that only 28% of us expect to fully stop working when we reach retirement age. It also found that the top three retirement aspirations are to travel, spend more time with family and friends, and pursue new hobbies. So, a multi-stage, longer life could provide more flexibility and freedom for employees.

However, a longer life could also come with health scares, extra caring responsibilities and evolving family dynamics that could compound their stress. As well as a potentially longer working life than expected to pay for this.

With this, employers are in a unique position to provide both support and guidance.

How does financial wellbeing come into it?

Financial wellbeing means living the life you want to live with the resources you have. It’s about balancing what’s in your bank with what’s on your mind – managing your financial responsibilities and living for pleasure today, while planning confidently for tomorrow.

However, employees facing the challenges of financial insecurity, and potentially working for longer, might find it difficult to prioritise joy and purpose in their lives.

With a longer life in mind, the weight of financial stability could be overshadowing their personal aspirations. It could be diminishing the satisfaction that is enjoyed from both their career and personal development.

But, by asking thoughtful questions and helping colleagues picture their future selves, you could help alleviate those burdens – allowing them to refocus their energy on what matters most to them.

How to help your colleagues spend for a 100-year life

Being good with money doesn’t just mean being good with the technical side of financial planning – like ‘the right’ pension contributions, savings and investment strategies. It’s about living the longer, happier life you want with the resources you have.

Your colleagues may need help on bringing mindset to the forefront – to help them move from where they are today to where they want to be in the future.

While pointing employees to savings projections, benefits schemes or calculators to sit alongside their pension pots are technically helpful – cultivating an environment of financial wellbeing can help to empower employees, instead.

Ultimately, it’s about helping them balance their financial responsibilities with personal satisfaction, encouraging them to picture their life in the future.

Some questions to ask about the future

Here are some thoughtful questions you can ask to better understand what truly matters to your workforce – and help colleagues envision their future:

What aspects of your work contribute most to your personal fulfilment and happiness?
How do you picture your career enhancing your life outside of work?
What are the biggest financial challenges you think you’ll face in the future, and how can we support you in overcoming them today?
Which benefits or initiatives would most improve your quality of life – both today, and tomorrow?
What personal goals or aspirations do you have, and how can your job today help you achieve them?

The role of employers in fostering financial wellbeing demands a more holistic approach. It's not just about securing financial futures but about creating pathways for employees to invest in joy and purpose as central tenets of their lives.

By asking thoughtful questions about what really matters to your team today, you can shape initiatives that align with your workforce’s future dreams.

This approach can make financial wellbeing a driving force for helping your colleagues live a longer, more meaningful life.