Why Providing Financial Wellness Benefits for Employees Is So Important

Many employers provide financial benefits to their employees — a salary, retirement plan, health insurance, etc., but how many provide support that actually helps them use those benefits effectively? This is where financial wellness benefits become extremely impactful. 

Employees want help with their finances — in fact, 93% seek financial guidance and support from their employer, but far too many of them lack the support they seek.

Financial wellness benefits are quickly becoming an essential part of an employee’s total compensation package, playing an important role alongside other benefit pillars like salary, equity, health insurance, retirement plans, and the usual suite of benefit offerings. 

And they have material benefits, too. Data from our own customers shows that employees who receive financial wellness benefits from Origin increased their 401K contributions by 42% and their HSA or 529 plan contributions by 23%. For employers, this also means $5,600 per employee saved in attrition costs, a total of $2.8M saved on backfilling roles for a company of 500+ employees, or $6M saved for a company of 1,000+.

But What Exactly Are Financial Wellness Benefits?

Starting from the top, financial wellness is a term used to describe your ability to manage your current and future financial needs. It considers the total picture of your financial health and recognizes how finances can impact stress levels. Much like physical fitness and mental health, financial wellness is essential because it impacts overall health and well-being. 

It means taking care of the money must-haves. It means directing your finances rather than having them direct you. It means budgeting, tracking, spending, saving, investing, protecting, and planning — and it means doing it all with a purpose. 

Because, let’s face it — money is involved in almost every part of our lives, so practicing financial wellness means stability in all other aspects of life, too. So, financial wellness benefits are exactly that: benefits that support an employee's financial wellness.

This includes things like:

Financial Wellness Platforms

Holistic financial wellness platforms, like Origin, allow users to manage their compensation, benefits, and personal finances in one place — side-by-side with Certified Financial Planners™. Employees can work with financial planning advisors bound by fiduciary duty to develop a financial roadmap and track their progress. Platforms like Origin function as a single place for employees to understand the value of their cash, equity, and benefits to see progress and take action.

Estate Planning Assistance

Only about 23% of Americans have an estate plan in place. While it’s often an uncomfortable topic to think about or plan for, it’s ultimately a necessary part of financial planning that can reduce both your own stress and the stress of your loved ones in the future. That’s why Origin includes estate planning as part of its financial wellness benefits, helping employees create a personalized plan to protect their assets and ensure their wishes are honored. 

Budgeting and Cash Flow Management

Tailored advice from a personal financial advisor who is also a fiduciary, an individual with a legal and ethical obligation to act in the best interests of others, is best. To complement this advice, use an all-in-one dashboard to see how your money is spent and where you risk going over budget. These tools typically allow users to filter and display information in several ways, like spending timelines and budget breakdowns along with spending categories, which can cut down on financial literacy barriers that may exist for some demographics.

Tax Guidance and Preparation

Tax guidance and filing services are also essential aspects of financial planning and wellness, 

that’s why Origin offers a comprehensive tax filing solution that covers all tax situations and allows employees to file at no additional cost.

Are Financial Wellness Benefits Effective?

The short answer is undoubtedly yes; financial wellness benefits can bring massive improvements to the overall morale, health, happiness, and even productivity of a company’s workforce. 

• According to PWC's 2023 Financial Wellness Survey, 60% of full-time employees are stressed about their finances. This is true even amongst high-earners, with 47% of those making over $100,000 reporting financial strain. 

• Money stress finds its way into other important areas of employees’ personal lives, with employees reporting negative implications of financial stress across sleep, mental health, self-esteem, and more. 

• Employees who are stressed about their finances are about five times more likely to report it impacting their performance at work, with 44% reporting it as a distraction.

• As mentioned above, employees do want help with their personal finances — PWC's survey found that 74% seek financial guidance when dealing with crises, life events, or general financial decisions.

• Stressed-out employees cost companies big time — some estimates put financial stress at an estimated $250 billion per year in lost productivity and absenteeism.

Source: PWC

How Origin Can Be the All-in-One Financial Wellness Benefits Platform

Origin offers a flexible, holistic solution to the financial wellness benefits need, filling an important gap in the benefits world with an all-in-one platform. 

With Origin, your employees gain access to:

• A holistic financial management platform that allows them to track their net worth, budget, monitor expenses, and get access to 1:1 financial planning sessions with a professional.

• Elsewhere, our all-encompassing approach also brings the ability to file taxes, analyze and monitor benefits or equity, and even create an estate plan — all in one place.

• Employees also gain access to an extensive library of financial education resources, a twice-weekly personal finance newsletter, and unfettered, 24/7 access to personalized insights and info from our AI-powered financial assistant, Sidekick. 

Interested in learning more? Find out how you can partner with Origin to help provide your employees with a crucial financial wellness solution.

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