Building an effective employee financial wellness program [5 Key Insights]

Anyone who does a “happy dance” on payday knows how much employers affect our financial lives. Most of us depend on employment to make ends meet and pursue our long-term goals. That’s why through the Workforce Financial Stability Initiative, we’ve been studying employee financial wellness programs (EFWPs) since 2017. Our motivation was simple: with growing […]

Credit-building services for employees: An assessment of engagement and outcomes

This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we examine administrative data for national nonprofit Working Credit’s employee benefit, which combines credit building education, one-on-one counseling, and access to financial products to help workers establish good credit. Working Credit offers credit-building services […]

Workplace credit-building counseling at a Midwest employer: An assessment of take-up, engagement, and outcomes

This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we focus on a workplace credit-building counseling program. This service is offered by a non-profit service provider that combines credit-building education, one-on-one counseling, and access to financial products to help low-income workers establish good […]

Financial counseling for low- and moderate-income home health care employees: An assessment of take-up, engagement, and outcomes

This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we analyze administrative data and interviews regarding Trusted Advisor, a workplace financial wellness benefit offering one-on-one counseling linked to vetted financial tools. The purpose of this study was to examine take-up, engagement, and financial […]

Employer-sponsored small-dollar loans: An assessment of take-up, engagement, and outcomes

This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project. In this study, we focus on an employer-sponsored small-dollar loan (ESSDL) product, TrueConnect loans, aimed at providing employees an affordable credit alternative to payday, auto title, and other high-cost loans. We present and discuss results of our […]

Financial counseling for low- and moderate-income employees: An assessment of engagement and outcomes

This is one research brief in a series of five completed through the Employee Financial Wellness Programs Project supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In this study, we focus on the results of analyses of administrative data for Trusted Advisor, a workplace financial wellness benefit offering one-on-one counseling linked to vetted financial tools. This service […]

Financial wellness programs in the workplace: Employer motivations and experiences

Employee financial wellness programs (EFWPs) are a benefit innovation that promise to address the financial challenges of employees while also benefiting employers. Results from a mixed-methods study of employers suggest early adopters appear to be motivated primarily by a desire to help employees. EFWP success may depend on promotion by organizational champions. Programs that accommodate […]

Employee financial wellness programs: Differences in reach by financial circumstances

Workplace-based Employee Financial Wellness Programs (EFWPs) aim to strengthen employees’ financial well-being through services such as financial coaching, payroll advances and short term installment loans, credit counseling, debt management, and online financial management tools. Although EFWPs are a fast-growing part of employee benefit packages, offerings vary widely in service type and delivery method across employers, […]

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 […]