As our Financial Wellness Week, in association with Aon, draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.
Not so long ago, I can remember writing about workplace savings platforms; at the time, a new benefits proposition that, among other things, enabled employees to incorporate details of their personal finances alongside those of the financial benefits they received from their employer in order to be able to view all of their financial information in one place.
One of the debates resulting from this development was around how comfortable employees would feel bringing elements of their personal finances into the workplace.
Despite these concerns, the concept of supporting employees with all elements of their financial situation has continued to grow. Organisations have increasingly recognised the advantages of providing a holistic financial wellness strategy, acknowledging the impact on factors such as mental health, performance and productivity.
When structuring their approach to financial wellness, employers have myriad considerations to take into account. Factors such as the rise of the multi-generational workforce, portfolio careers and increasing fluidity in family structures, to name but a few, mean employers must ensure their approach is flexible enough to accommodate staff at every stage of both their life and career journey.
Debt and in-work poverty now inevitably play a significant role in this. In response, a number of employers have introduced measures to facilitate staff saving, laying the foundations of a stronger financial future.
Nevertheless, despite the importance placed of shorter-term financial priorities, particularly as staff work towards relieving themselves of debt and saving for key life goals, such as buying a property or starting a family, individuals should not lose sight of longer-term financial needs, and preparing now for the world after work. Using workplace interventions to ensure staff remain engaged with pensions, therefore, is vital if they are to avoid future hardship.
Whatever your workforce’s financial needs, Financial Wellness Week was designed to help you take this to the next level through exclusive insights and opinions uncovering best practice in this area. These included:
- Top tips on using workplace interventions to boost pensions engagement
- How should financial wellbeing approaches change during an employee’s journey?
- How to create a savings culture in the workplace
- Hachette uses workplace event to engage younger staff with pension contributions
- Michael Royce: How can employers help staff improve financial capability?
- Martin Parish: Money under the mattress- why support financial wellbeing
- Michael Spiers: Financial wellbeing is not about winning the lottery
- Anglian Water provides for financial wellbeing across varied life stages
- Curtins integrates financial support into its benefits programme
- Savings stress: Financial wellness in numbers
Financial wellness is just one of the topics that will be covered at Employee Benefits Live on 1 and 2 October at ExCel, London. Delegates will be able to hear industry experts discussing some of the latest trends and best practice around employee wellbeing. Find out more.
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
Tweet: @DebbieLovewell