Debt has become the top financial worry for employees (68%), surpassing inflation, according to our latest report.

The average American carries $104,215 in debt across mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student loans, and more—making financial management overwhelming.

How can employers support their workforce in tackling this challenge? What steps can help employees regain control and improve overall well-being? This study explores these questions, starting with key insights from our findings.

KEY FINDINGS

• Debt has now surpassed inflation as the biggest financial stressor.
• Only 39% of organizations, aside from retirement plans, have or are considering financial wellness programs.
• Companies are better at demonstrating benefits ROI than measuring the ROI of financial wellness initiatives.
• 86% of organizations with financial wellness programs track success metrics, but there’s no agreement on which to prioritize.
• Several factors influence how organizations implement financial wellness initiatives, emphasizing the need for a strategic approach.

The Success and Prevalence of Financial Wellness Programs

Despite growing awareness of financial wellness, many organizations still struggle to provide meaningful support. Only 16% effectively help employees achieve financial wellness to a high or very high extent, while 39% offer moderate support. This leaves 45% of organizations falling short in addressing employees' financial well-being. These numbers remain largely unchanged from last year—when just 15% reported strong success in this area.
A 2022 Bank of America study found that 80% of employers believe financial wellness support enhances employee satisfaction, loyalty, engagement, and productivity. Yet, many organizations have yet to act.

Currently, 39% of organizations have either established a financial wellness program, are in the process of implementing one, or are in the early planning stages. However, 25% have no plans to introduce such a program beyond retirement benefits.

Financial wellness leaders—organizations that actively support employee financial well-being—are far ahead in this area. Nearly 74% of them already have or are implementing financial wellness programs. In stark contrast, only 7% of financial wellness laggards have an initiative in place, and for 44%, the topic isn’t even on their radar.

Understanding Employee Financial Wellness

To effectively support employees' financial wellness, organizations need strong metrics. However, only 14% say they truly understand their employees' financial well-being through solid investigations and metrics—a five percentage-point drop from last year, indicating a growing disconnect.

Meanwhile, 36% admit to having little to no understanding, relying mostly on gut feelings. The remaining 51% claim to have a partial understanding, but their insights are based on sporadic data rather than consistent analysis.

In recent years, inflation was the largest cause of financial stress, but it has taken a tumble from first to fourth spot. This is likely due to inflation rates losing some momentum in 2024, with an all-time low of 2.4% in September of that year.

As of this year, dealing with debt is the biggest stressor (e.g., credit card, student loan, mortgage) (68%). This is unsurprising as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York report claims household debt hitting $18.04 trillion, mortgages rising to $12.61 trillion and credit card debt hitting $1.21 trillion in the U.S. as of December 2024.

Measuring the Success of Financial Wellness Programs

Metrics play a crucial role in justifying and evaluating the success of financial wellness initiatives. 59% of organizations track enrollment and contributions to retirement plans, HSAs, and similar programs. 46% monitor employee engagement indicators like job satisfaction, morale, happiness, and turnover, while 39% assess employee satisfaction with wellness programs.

However, 16% still lack any metrics. The good news? This marks an 18-percentage-point improvement from last year—when 34% of organizations reported having no metrics in place.

Organizations’ Considerations for the Future

When evaluating benefit offerings, organizations prioritize several key factors. When asked to choose their top four from a list of ten, respondents highlighted:
 

• 72% consider the financial cost of providing the benefit.
• 55% focus on the value it delivers to employees who use it.
• 43% take into account the time required for ongoing management.
• 40% assess its impact on employee engagement and productivity.

AI adoption continues to rise rapidly. In 2024, generative AI usage surged from 55% to 75%. Our study shows that 81% of organizations express at least some level of interest in AI. However, within this group:
 

• 40% remain somewhat skeptical.
• 32% are curious to explore AI’s capabilities.
• 10% firmly believe AI is the future.

Download the full report for key takeaways and in-depth insights.
   
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