*Research Brief Financial Security

Employee financial wellness programs: Differences in reach by race and ethnicity

Employee Financial Wellness Programs (EFWPs) consist of a wide array of workplace-based services and benefits that aim to enhance employees’ financial well-being, such as in-person financial coaching, online financial management tools, and payroll advances or short-term loans. EFWP provision varies across employers with few organizations offering the same set of services. The recently released Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project: Comprehensive Report of Findings notes that EFWP utilization rates and employee self-reported benefits also vary widely. This report continues the examination of variation in EFWP trends by breaking down measures of EFWP reach by employee race and ethnicity. We examine three measures of differences in EFWP reach: awareness of, use of, and self-reported benefits from EFWP services. By examining these three measures by employee race and ethnicity, we hope to determine whether any group of employees has a substantially different experience with EFWPs than others.


Project: Workforce Financial Stability Initiative

Citation

Fox-Dichter, S., Despard, M., Frank-Miller, E., & Germain, G. (2018). Employee financial wellness programs: Differences in reach by race and ethnicity (SPI Research Brief No. 18-01). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Social Policy Institute.