You can lead a horse to water …Financial wellness programs are on the rise. Now it’s only a question of increasing their use on the part of employees.
A recent report from Aon Hewitt finds that large employers plan to expand the depth and breadth of financial well-being programs in 2016.
According to Aon Hewitt’s “Hot Topics in Retirement and Financial Well-Being” survey of more than 250 U.S. employers, representing nearly 7 million workers:
- Fully 55 percent of employers currently offer help to workers in at least one category of financial well-being such as budgeting, debt management and the financial aspects of health care
- Nearly 38 percent provide help in at least three categories
- By the end of 2016, 77 percent of employers will have at least one financial well-being program and 52 percent will have at least three
“Workers have a wide variety of financial needs and challenges,” Rob Austin, director of retirement research at Aon Hewitt, said in a statement. “Employers are realizing that they need to provide a range of financial well-being tools and resources to help this diverse workforce and to truly make an impact on workers’ long and short-term savings goals.”
Aon Hewitt also found that most employers (85 percent) say they are creating and adding financial well-being programs because it is “the right thing to do.” Another 80 percent of employers report that their programs are designed to improve employee engagement.
”Workers say they want their employer to provide them with the resources to help them obtain a more secure financial future, and it seems that employers are stepping up to this request,” Austin added. “In 2016, financial well-being programs will cement themselves as part of most employers’ total benefits package.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
