How to improve employees’ financial confidence

Research published by insurer LV= in January 2025 found that while 69% of employees feel financially resilient, just 18% consider themselves to be very financially resilient. This sizeable disparity between the two figures presents a chance for employers to offer support to bridge the gap and improve employees’ financial confidence further.

Financial education 

If employees feel they lack knowledge or understanding on money matters, this could negatively impact their financial confidence. But employers are in a strong position to offer schemes and guidance on how to improve their confidence.

The most innovative financial education programmes integrate behavioural science, digital tools and real-world applications to make learning engaging and impactful, says Tim Perkins, co-founder of Nudge. “This improves confidence by focusing on holistic support,” he explains. “Programmes can include personalised, community and peer learning, gamification and rewards, live chat-bot style support and workplace integration.”

Financial education programmes offer support through workshops, online courses, webinars, and calculators, for example. Employers can host articles about various financial topics on their intranet and use personalised nudges and alerts to put relevant information in front of employees at the right time.

Employees engage most when content is personalised, accessible, and linked to their current life stage or goals, explains Megan Worthing-Davies, co-founder and chief operating officer at Maji Financial Wellbeing.

“It’s about timing, relevance and delivery,” she says. ”The best schemes will break down complex topics such as pensions, mortgages and investing, into simple, jargon-free explanations in engaging multimedia formats. They help employees understand the benefits already available to them, and encourage budgeting, emergency saving, and pension contributions through a culture of openness.”

Supportive benefits

Employers can take several steps to build employees’ financial confidence. Beyond education, they can provide relevant benefits, and ensure employees understand how to make the most of these. Training staff to become financial first-aiders, so they can help colleagues experiencing financial difficulties find support and guidance, is also a useful resource.

Employer discounts and earned-wage access can be important, with the latter being particularly effective for emergencies, says David Collington, partner and head of benefit consulting at Barnett Waddingham. “Employers should, however, watch how much this is used by employees, [because] high usage may suggest an underlining problem,” he says. ”Flexible benefits platforms can feature easy-to-access financial wellbeing and education support. Educational content provided in multiple formats to reach the biggest audience possible can help.”

If individuals are struggling with debt issues, employers could signpost to external resources such as Step Change and Money Helper, which is government-backed, and access to a qualified expert that can listen without judgement and work on a plan of action. Most employee assistance programmes will also signpost to free debt support services.

“Employers could offer support and education on consolidating debts and paying off the correct debt first for each employee, for example, paying off small debts first and building up over time,” says Collington. “This can help them to see progress and improve their relationship with money.”

Financial planning

Financial planning tools, support and free-to-access resources are all valuable assets that employers can build up within a financial wellbeing programme. They should also aim to create a culture where financial wellbeing is talked about regularly and without stigma. A culture should encourage open dialogue, normalise financial conversations, and help break down taboos.

Personalised financial coaching can provide employees with tailored guidance based on their unique goals and circumstances, explains Worthing-Davies. 

“Coaching provides a confidential and judgement-free space where employees can build a trusted relationship with an expert,” she says. ”Coaches can help break down complex topics into bitesize actions and use coaching techniques to help develop positive beliefs. They can help create an empowering context where employees have the tools to act and are motivated to do so.”

In order to help with budgeting, organisations could create clear spending plans and offer tools that are user-friendly and accessible across devices.  

“Employers should offer money management tools that help employees to put learning into action and enable them to see their money in a 360-degree view, work on budgets and spending plans, and feel more in control of their financial situation by taking concrete actions,” says Worthing-Davies. ”When employees can understand the impact of small changes, and making them with a few clicks, they are more likely to act.”

Investment help

Organisations can also help to boost employees’ financial confidence around specific schemes, for example, investing in workplace share schemes, such as sharesave schemes, share incentive plans, company share option plans, and enterprise management incentive schemes. They can do this by providing goal-setting tools to see what they can realistically save and set up monthly targets, to keep staff accountable to their money goals and build confidence over time.

Creating automatic transfers from salary to workplace savings schemes or individual savings accounts (Isas), meanwhile, can provide an easy route to building up a savings pot. 

“Employers could also offer easy-to-digest content on how shares work, investment risks, and long-term planning, as well as access to free resources and unbiased informational websites, and sessions with financial coaches or advisors,” says Worthing-Davies.

In addition, providing employees with accurate and relevant information about pensions and investments will help to improve their confidence when making financial decisions. 

“Poorly delivered generic pensions education and communication are likely to have a negative impact on confidence,” says Collington. ”Accurately targeted, thoughtful and relevant education and communication would improve understanding, demystify jargon and empower employees to make improved pensions decisions. Financial confidence is improved when employees feel confident in the decisions they make.”

By taking steps to improve employees’ financial confidence, employers will see benefits for themselves too, such as increased staff engagement and productivity.