Employee Financial Wellness Programs

Research Agenda

The Employee Financial Wellness Programs (EFWPs) research agenda examines a new set of employer benefits and initiatives aimed at helping low- to moderate-income (LMI) workers achieve financial stability. WFSI has conducted groundbreaking research on employers’ motivations for and experiences with offering EFWPs and outcomes experienced by employees who use these benefits such as digital financial management apps and platforms, small-dollar loans, savings programs, 401k portability assistance, and medical bill assistance. Learn more about EFWPs and five key insights from our research over the last five years.

We recently examined an emergency assistance program offered to hotel workers in New Orleans and we are currently conducting behavioral experiments in the workplace to promote worker financial stability, evaluating a pilot workplace program to connect workers to the Earned Income Tax Credit, exploring innovative models such as a loan-to-savings rollover benefit, and consulting with various clients concerning employer strategies to use EFWPs and increase workers’ access to financial supports.

Research briefs on Employee Financial Wellness Programs

  1. Credit-Building Services for Employees: An Assessment of Engagement and Outcomes
  2. Workplace Credit-Building Counseling at a Midwest Employer: An Assessment of Take-Up, Engagement, and Outcomes
  3. Financial Counseling for Low- and Moderate-Income Home Health Care Employees: An Assessment of Take-Up, Engagement, and Outcomes
  4. Employer-Sponsored Small-Dollar Loans: An Assessment of Take-Up, Engagement, and Outcomes
  5. Financial Counseling for Low- and Moderate-Income Employees: An Assessment of Engagement and Outcomes

Research reports on Employee Financial Wellness Programs

  1. Timely and Well-Targeted Financial Assistance during Covid-19
  2. When a Job is Not Enough: Employee Financial Wellness and the Role of Philanthropy
  3. Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project: Comprehensive Report of Findings
  4. Employee Financial Wellness Programs: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research
  5. Employee financial wellness programs: Promising new benefit for frontline workers?

Research Briefs: Fintech as a Solution for Employee Financial Health

  1. Fintech as a Solution for Employee Financial Health: Findings from Five Exploratory Studies
  2. Saving for a Rainy Day: Making it Easier for Employees to Build Emergency Savings
  3. Financing Workers’ Health Care Cash Flow Needs: A Pilot Study
  4. Don’t Cash Out or Leave Them Behind: A Pilot Study of a 401k Plan Transfer Digital Platform
  5. From Financial Struggle to Short-Term Financial Relief – An Exploratory Study on Small-Dollar Lending for Low-and Moderate-Income Employees
  6. Employer-Sponsored Financial Planning: A Study of the Brightside Platform

Partnerships

Workforce Financial Stability Initiative