It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted women by weakening their retirement security, but new research shows that it is also influencing their overall financial well-being. The findings came from a recent report from Origin, the employee financial wellness platform provider, which examined the financial behaviors and stressors of employees in its inaugural State of Financial Health and Wealth Report.
Women trailed men–38% versus 62%–when asked if they were more likely to be confident or very confident in their financial health than women. Women are slightly more likely–10%–than men to say their financial health is the same or worse than last year. And they were also less likely to put income away to build wealth, pointing to gender gaps in financial wellness going well past the paycheck. Other findings include that women are not as prone to put disposable income in savings accounts, retirement accounts, cryptocurrency, or brokerage/investment accounts, and that they were less likely to have ever consulted a financial planner.
Time for employers to step up
While Congress has attempted to introduce legislation to strengthen women’s retirement, many say it’s actually employers that need to step up to help all of their workers. Nearly 93% of American workers (all genders) somewhat agree to strongly agree that they want their employers to offer increased access to financial planning and advisory services, but only 28% of employers are currently providing it. Matt Watson, Origin’s CEO and co-founder, agrees saying that by offering financial planning services as part of a benefits package, “employers have a unique opportunity to not only differentiate themselves from other companies in a hot talent market, but to also do their part to mitigate the gender wealth gap, retirement crisis and overall financial stress,” within the workplace.
More pointedly, Origin’s lead financial planner David Blaylock, CFP, noted that employees have hit a “breaking point” when it comes to financial stress, and are seeking help from their employers.
“So now is the time for companies to decide: are we going to support our workforce in a meaningful way? Or are we going to turn a blind eye to their situations?”
Lynn Brackpool Giles is a contributing editor to 401(k) Specialist. Giles is a former Managing Director of Communications and Consumer Services for the Financial Planning Association (FPA), where she oversaw all corporate, legislative, and consumer communications. In her current journalistic practice, she is a frequent contributor to numerous financial services industry publications.
