How to support your employees' financial wellness

Employees are a business’ most crucial asset. The relationship between employee well-being and financial health is well-established, as is its wider impact on productivity, satisfaction and retention.

• Money is the biggest source of stress in the UK: one in eight employees are in working poverty [source]

• Financially stressed employees are twice as likely to leave. [source]

• Employees who are financially stressed are twice as likely to report poor health overall and take twice as many sick days, thereby impacting their productivity and overall team performance. [source]

• Employees struggling with their finances are nine times more likely to have troubled relationships with co-workers, and are twice as likely to be searching for a new job, leading to increased HR and training burdens for employers. [source]

In light of all this, and the cost of living crisis, financial wellness is being pushed up the business agenda, but is still the least common area covered in HR strategies.

Almost 80% of employees are not satisfied with the efforts of their employer when it comes to managing their finances [source]

Why should you incorporate financial wellness into your employer strategy?

There are huge business benefits to delivering financial wellness to your employees:

• 83% of employers noticed an improvement in worker performance when financial wellness programs were implemented, and 81% noted increased employee satisfaction. [source]

• Employees who are financially secure are engaged, healthier, and more productive. A decrease in financial stress leads to lower turnover rates, with 60% of employees more likely to stick with an employer that offers a financial wellness programme. [source]

• 76% of employees state they would be attracted to another company that they perceive cares more about their financial wellbeing [source]

How should you incorporate financial wellness into your employer strategy?

We’ve developed the Moneyhub Multibuy Plan to make it easy for you to offer your employees a practical tool aimed at supporting their financial wellness.

What is the Moneyhub MultiBuy Plan?

Employers can now bulk purchase licences to our award-winning financial wellness consumer app. 

Your employees will sign up via a dedicated sign-up page that is in line with your branding. They’ll then be directed to simply download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play after registering.

The Moneyhub app’s entire user-interface (UI), logos, colours and typography will automatically update to your branding, to ensure you retain ownership of the relationship and consistency of experience.

We can roll out the access in as little as one week, making it fast and easy to incorporate financial wellness into your HR strategy so you can start reaping the rewards of a happier, more productive workforce, increased retention and attracting more top talent.

About the app

The Moneyhub app gives people unrivalled clarity over their financial world by offering them a clear 360° view of their finances.

Employees can connect bank accounts, credit cards, savings, pensions, investments, mortgages, assets and more. It provides personalised savings suggestions, offers and relevant services linked to the individual’s life stage and circumstances.

84% of Moneyhub users told us that after 3 months of using our app, they felt they had better control of their finances

Apps like Moneyhub offer employers a straightforward, intuitive way to help their employees understand, manage and improve their financial health.

They provide more continuation than money management workshops (although both work fantastically in conjunction with each other), and are available whenever, and wherever your employees wish to use them.

If you’re interesting in finding out more about how we can help you support your employees’ financial wellness, learn more about our Multibuy Plan here, or book a demo using the form below

Employers: Now is the time to develop pension engagement and financial wellbeing strategies

As Pensions Awareness Week 2023 draws to a close, we’re reminded that  59% of adults contributing to a workplace DC pension have low, or very low pension engagement. Now is clearly the time for employers to be developing plans on how to better support staff with their retirement planning.

Low engagement isn’t good news for pension providers, individuals, nor the companies that employ them.

The benefits of high levels of pension engagement

Leading the charge in boosting pension awareness is Moneyhub partner Standard Life. Standard Life’s Retirement Voice 2022 found that people who dedicate time to pension planning, are reaping benefits to their wider financial wellbeing:

• They are almost three times more likely to feel more positive about their financial situation

• More likely to feel confident in making financial decisions

• More likely to enjoy retirement

But, despite these benefits, and the cost of living crisis encouraging more people to pay closer attention to their finances, their research shows that “when it comes to retirement planning, the vast majority of people (72%) are still doing little, if anything.”

So, what’s stopping people?

Within the report, Standard Life put these low levels of engagement down to the advice and guidance gap, lack of education and support, and feelings of overwhelm when people do come across guidance or information on their pensions.

People who are not engaging with their pensions tend to have poorer financial wellbeing overall, with 66% worrying they are not saving enough for when they’re older and 47% feeling less confident in their ability to make good financial decisions.

For individuals, this leads to feelings of stress and anxiety, which in turn can lead to reduced productivity and performance for the companies that employ them.

Responsible employers must take action

While employers are beginning to recognise that financial wellbeing goes beyond paying salaries, it is still the least common area included in HR wellbeing strategies. Yet, as Gail Izat, Workplace Managing Director at Standard Life states, “employers are perfectly positioned to provide the information and guidance people need, because they can incorporate it into their workplace pension offering.”

In the midst of the cost of living crisis and the widening UK savings gap, it’s more important than ever that employers demonstrate a commitment to the financial wellbeing of their staff.

The good news is, with Open Finance technology like ours, it’s never been easier.

Unlocking value for pension providers and employers with Open Finance

Pension engagement is one part of the puzzle. If people are struggling with debt, managing their day-to-day finances or even focused on saving money for something like their first home, paying attention to or contributing more to their pension will be low on their list of priorities. For people to have healthy finances in retirement, they must adopt healthy financial habits through their working lives.

Standard Life has understood this and incorporated Money Mindset, built on our Open Finance capabilities, into their workplace offering.

Setting pension providers, and in turn employers, apart

Incorporating an Open Finance proposition like Money Mindset truly sets Standard Life’s offering apart.

Money Mindset offers users a complete picture of their entire financial world (current accounts, savings, properties, investments, pensions and more) alongside forecasting tools and even a financial education hub.

Providers who adopt these solutions will be the ones who see higher levels of engagement from employers, really differentiating their offering in a crowded market. They can work with clients to augment Employer Value Propositions and bring a host of benefits to their end-users.

It’s win-win-win

Fostering a more financially literate and resilient workforce benefits all parties mentioned in this blog post. Individuals gain confidence in managing daily spending and unexpected costs, get greater control and understanding of where their money is coming and going out, and get on track for a secure and sustainable financial future into retirement.

Employers reap the rewards of higher productivity and performance, reduced absenteeism and employee stress or burnout and become more attractive to, and better at retaining, top talent.

And of course, pension providers benefit from primacy among workplace clients and members, higher level of engagement and increased opportunities to boost AUM through consolidation or higher contributions. It’s win-win-win!

Would you like to find out more about how Open Finance could benefit your business? Talk to one of our guides →