Top tips for supporting employees’ financial health and wellbeing
Most people would probably agree that 2023 was another year of financial difficulty and uncertainty.
According to Standard Life’s Retirement Voice 2023 report people’s health and financial wellbeing suffered a blow over the past 12 months:
- One in four say managing their money has led to sleepless nights and poor mental health
- More than half (54%) of people say they feel stressed about money because of the cost of living crisis
- Just four in 10 feel positive about their financial situation
The double whammy of the festive season and cold winter months could worsen people’s financial worries, as they face both the cost of festive celebrations and higher heating bills.
Despite struggling, most people (62%) aren’t seeking support with their financial concerns. Clearly, more needs to be done to encourage people who are feeling financially stressed to seek help.
There’s lots employers can do to support employees’ financial wellbeing and make it easier for them to open up about money worries.
Top tips for supporting employees’ financial wellbeing:
1. Encourage money talk
Talking about money worries can make a huge difference to people’s financial wellbeing.
In fact, according to the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), people who talk about money make better and less risky financial decisions, and feel less stressed or anxious and more in control.
Help by normalising conversations about money in the workplace, starting with creating a supportive culture. Giving people a safe place to share their concerns will go a long way to encouraging them to open up.
2. Improve signposting
Make it easier for people to seek support by signposting to clear and simple guidance, such as MoneyHelper and MaPS.
If you have one, promote your employee assistance programme too. Some employees may be unaware of the support on offer or where to find it, so it’s important to send regular reminders.
3. Help employees manage their money
Many people lose sleep over managing their money. You can help ease the pressure by providing tools that make it easier for employees to budget.
For example, online calculators and comparison tools from places like MoneyHelper can help employees work out their spending.
Standard Life workplace pension scheme members can also use its Money Mindset app. This allows employees to see their financial accounts in one place and in real time, making it easier to see savings opportunities. It also includes a budget planner.
4. Provide financial education
Most people aren’t taught how to manage money; often they just pick things up along the way. But this can make it difficult to make well-informed decisions, especially if faced with complex financial situations.
You can help boost your employees’ financial knowledge by providing easy-to-digest financial education content. Standard Life’s Money Mindset app has a library of jargon-free content that aims to build financial confidence and demystify finances.
5. Support first-time home buyers
Buying a house is inarguably of the most financially stressful and challenging life events.
As an employer, you can help by signposting to information that aims to simplify homebuying, guiding first-time buyers through the process, from creating a savings plan to applying for a mortgage.
Remember to point employees to external support too, such as government schemes that can provide financial help towards buying a home.
6. Help employees locate lost pensions
Careers can change direction, making it difficult to keep track of old pension pots. This can be problematic for employees who are approaching retirement and want to get their pension savings in order.
Help employees find lost pensions by guiding them towards resources that help track them down, such as the government’s pension tracing service.
Standard Life’s Pension Finder tool works by scanning their employment history on LinkedIn, and searching the government’s pension tracing service automatically to find any lost pensions.
For more information on financial wellbeing, including resources on how you can help support your employees, go to our Financial Wellbeing hub.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Standard Life
Standard Life are part of Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business. We both share an aligned ambition to help every customer enjoy a life full of possibilities.
