Financial Wellness Stats for 2024

Financial security plays a huge role in wellbeing — and not just for individuals, but also for the companies that employ them. Workforce financial wellness can have a resounding impact for organizations willing to invest in it, supporting positive business metrics such as improved retention rates, higher levels of employee engagement, and even a lifted bottom line.

But financial wellness isn’t something that happens in a vacuum. Economic shifts, employee financial literacy, and other factors come together to determine what it takes to build monetary stability, for the individual as well as the employing company. That’s why monitoring current financial wellness facts is a critical task for organizations.

Let’s dive in.

What is financial wellness?

The term financial wellness describes a balance between a group or individual’s income, expenditure, savings, and debt that allows for maximum control over their money. When financial wellness is achieved, the group or individual:

• May easily absorb emergency expenses.
• Avoid excessive debt. 
• Cover everyday costs.
• Save for the future.
• Use the surplus to invest and/or enjoy the present (according to their own sensibilities).

When we consider holistic financial wellness, emotional states — as they relate to finances — also come into play. Freedom from stress and a sense of confidence and security signal the achievement of financial wellbeing.

13 critical financial wellness statistics for 2024

Financial wellness is an achievable goal for all members of the global workforce. But to help your employees get there, your team needs to know what it’s dealing with. Here are the 13 top financial wellness statistics you need to know in 2024.

The state of financial wellness

1. Individual perceptions of both the economy, as well as personal finances, are at a five-year low. 74 percent of respondents feel “at least okay” about their own financial standing, while a scant 18 percent believe the national economy to be “good.” (FRB)
2. Inflation is the top cause of financial concern for individuals at most income levels, especially in households earning more than $50,000 per year. (FRB)
3. 80 percent of chief human resource officers are concerned that wage increases are unable to keep up with the speed of inflation; this worry is reflected by 59 percent of employees who say that their pay is inadequate for the current economic climate. (PwC)

Financial wellness and stress

1. 57 percent of employees say money is for them a top cause of stress, with organizational changes such as an employer’s cost-cutting measures following close behind. This statistic is an increase from numbers gathered at the crest of the COVID-19 pandemic.(PwC)
2. 44 percent of employees who report financial stress say money worries have significantly hindered their performance and productivity while at work. (PwC)
3. Financial stress impacts more than just workforce performance — top employee ailments resulting from money-related worry include sleep (56 percent), mental health (55 percent), and even self-esteem (50 percent). (PwC)
4. In 2022, 35 percent of respondents believe they are financially “worse off” than the year before, compared to 20 percent of respondents in 2021. (FRB)

Financial wellness and DEI

1. Individuals with higher levels of education feel much more confident in their financial standing than those without: 88 percent of respondents holding a bachelor’s degree or beyond feel they have at least adequate financial stability, compared to the 49 percent of respondents working without a high school diploma. (FRB)
2. Race also cuts a hard line through the experience of financial wellness, with 77 percent of white respondents reporting adequate financial standing compared to just 64 percent of Black respondents. (FRB)
3. Members of the LGBTQ+ community lag several points behind with just 65 percent reporting financial stability compared to 75 percent of their straight counterparts. Transgender respondents are even less likely to experience financial confidence, with just 55 percent reporting an “okay” financial standing. (FRB)

Financial wellness and the organization

1. 74 percent of employees want support from their employers to develop a more stable financial picture. That includes financial education, decision making support, and direct help in dealing with money-related hardship and emergencies. (PwC)
2. Employee engagement with employer-provided financial services is at an all-time high, with 68 percent of respondents reporting that they actively use or have used their organization’s financial support programming. (PwC)
3. 73 percent of employees say that employer-provided financial support is an important factor in whether or not they will remain with their current organization. (PwC)

What’s next & how Origin can help

The economic times are tough, and both employees and the companies they work for are feeling the effects of financial stress. But armed with these statistics, and the knowledge that employees are ready to engage with your company’s financial wellness solutions, organizations are in a prime position to do something about it.

First, pay your people a thriving wage. Before you make cuts to your team, consider stalling on executive bonuses or your profit margin. In the long run, a happy workforce will be more productive and generate greater gains than one in a constant state of worry.

Next, consider implementing an intelligent financial wellness solution like Origin. 

Origin is a financial wellness program that helps employees cultivate holistic financial wellness with a strategic mix of tracking, education, and expert advice. Origin has a proven impact on both employee financial wellbeing as well as organizational metrics. After implementing it:

1. Organizations saw a 42 percent increase in employee retirement contributions on average.
2. Addressing employee financial stress saved companies $5,600 in attrition per employee.
3. Increased retention and decreased stress meant that Origin helped to save one enterprise organization $2.8 million in backfilling roles.

Origin is fully customizable to meet the exact needs of your business and its people. Find out what else Origin can do for you.

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