How serious is the problem of financial stress?
Seventy - Seven percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck ,1 41% give themselves a C, D, or F in personal finance,2 according to citations in a recent white paper from Financial Fitness Group.
The situation has a serious impact today, and perhaps a worse tomorrow, considering estimates that about 1/3 or working Americans have no retirement savings. The cost to employers of employee financial stress, according to one course cited in the paper, may be $15,000 per employee per year. 3
There is good news: employers are in the best position to make an impact on the numbers. Combining financial literacy education as a regular part of 401(k) plan communication can lead to changes in behavior. In turn, these changes may lead to better financial stability for employees during, and after, their working years.
If you plan to offer employees a program of financial education, be sure the one you choose is engaging and interactive. The information should be easily accessible and flexible, too. Both can be achieved through web-based tools the employee can use whenever and wherever individual circumstances allow.
Here are additional blog post about Financial Wellness programs available to your employees and how to increase employee participation in your 401k plan. As always if you have any questions, please contact me at joe@printers401k.com or 800.307.0376.
Financial Wellness Reaches Majority Status
When Employees Retire....Matters to Them....and Employers
4 Simple Ways to Increase Participant Savings
Tracking # 1-677992 (exp 12/19)
1 77% of All Americans Live Paycheck to Paycheck at Least Part of the Time, Michael Snyder. http://thetruthwins.com/achives/77-percent-of-all-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-at-least-part-of-the-time
2 Consumer financial Literacy Survey. prepared for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and prepared by Harris Interactive Inc.
3 Employee Financial Stress in Costing Your Company a Bundle - And How You Can Stop it Now.