Financial wellness sees significant growth

For 2025, nearly all employers (92%) surveyed in Alight’s study plan to stretch their financial wellbeing programs outside retirement planning, as more admit that the importance of financial wellness has received more attention in their workplace than decreased (63% vs. 3%).

These focuses include an attention on budgeting, debt management, estate planning, and Social Security optimization. Others say that for 2025, they will incorporate education on the basics of financial markets, simple investing, etc. (64%), while others will provide healthcare education and planning (48%), assistance post-retirement for programs (30%), and help in establishing emergency savings (27%).

More employers are offering these tools and features as employees demand it in their workplace plans. Thirty eight percent of employees say employers should provide a tool in helping workers establish savings goals, while 35% believe they should offer education with this topic. Others want tools or education in maximizing asset growth (34% vs. 42%), budgeting (29% vs. 36%), understanding insurance (27% vs. 52%), saving for an emergency expense (26% vs. 38%), and understanding investment vehicles (25% vs. 49%), among others.

One feature continues to see little attention from employers. Even with recent SECURE 2.0 legislation and despite a strong interest from employees, plan sponsors are not prioritizing student loan assistance, reports Alight. Employers say they are “not at all likely” to offer student loan consolidation (51%), student loan repayment assistance (67%), college savings facilitation (58%), or employer money to defined contribution plans (55%).

Next: Selectively adopting SECURE 2.0