2019 - Page 4 of 11 - Best Money Moves

How Financial Stress Affects Gen X at Work

Top 3 Financial Stressors Affecting Gen Z

Financial Wellness as an Employee Engagement Strategy

3 Financial Stressors Affecting Every Generation

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.

Millennial Financial Stress Statistics 2019

by AllyMauch | Sep 9, 2019 | Blog

Millennial financial stress statistics 2019. Here’s how student loans, housing costs and savings are affecting the millennial generation.

Based on the most recent data, Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce, surpassing both Baby Boomers and Generation X. Burdened with student loan debt, high costs of living and savings struggles, Millennials are also some of the most financially stressed employees.

Nearly two-thirds of Millennials feel like they are doing worse financially compared to their parents’ generation and 76 percent find it stressful dealing with their financial situation — and this stress is only getting worse over time.

Millennials and Student Loan Debt

The U.S. is dealing with a student loan debt crisis, with total debt reaching nearly $1.6 trillion. Millennials are dealing with the brunt of this crisis — 29.1 million student loan borrowers are under the age of 39, more than any other generation.

According to research from PwC, nearly half of Millennials have student loans and 80 percent say their debt has a moderate or significant effect on their other financial goals. When asked what benefits they would like to see from employers, more than a third cited a student loan repayment benefit.

In another survey, Millennials admit to putting off building an emergency fund, saving for retirement, buying a home and getting married due to student loan debt.

Housing Costs and Millennial Financial Stress

In addition to — and in conjunction with — student loan debt, millennials face lower incomes and higher housing costs than the generations before them, making the rising costs of living a major financial stressor. Many Millennials graduated during a recession, and they still make 20 percent less than Baby Boomers did at the same stage of life.

Only 36 percent of Millennials say that their compensation is keeping up with the rising cost of their living expenses, a number that is even lower for Millennial women. Lower incomes and higher living costs make it difficult for this generation to maintain a comfortable standard of living while paying off debt and attempting to save for the future.

Millennials Have Inadequate Savings

Not having enough savings for unexpected expenses is one of the top concerns for Millennials, with 62 percent saying they are most financially stressed about their lack of emergency savings. This, combined with the aforementioned issues of debt and living costs, paints a pretty bleak financial picture for Millennials.

Only one in four Millennial employees say they would be able to meet their basic expenses if they were out of work for an extended period of time and 63 percent consistently carry balances on their credit cards. In addition to struggles with emergency savings, Millennials’ retirement savings are taking a hit — 24 percent have already withdrawn money from their retirement funds to pay for other expenses.

Half of Millennials have reported that financial worries affect their productivity at work, making financial stress a problem for employees and employers alike. Financial wellness programs like Best Money Moves can help alleviate the problem. Best Money Moves is mobile, gamified and easy-to-use — perfect for millennials. It provides practical, unbiased help so employees can make smarter financial decisions and manage the debt they have.

More on Millennials Financial Stress Statistics 2019

How Financial Stress Affects Gen X at Work

Top 3 Financial Stressors Affecting Gen Z

Financial Wellness as an Employee Engagement Strategy

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.

How Financial Stress Affects Gen X at Work

by AllyMauch | Sep 4, 2019 | Blog

How financial stress affects Gen X at work. Gen X has the most overall debt compared to any other generation and they’re bringing their financial stress to work.

Gen X — roughly those between the ages of 38 and 58 — is often cited as the “forgotten generation” sitting between the more famed Millennials and Baby Boomers. However forgotten they may be, those in Gen X are facing a whole host of unique financial stressors that employers need to address.

In addition to carrying the most credit card debt and being the least happy at work compared to all other generations, Gen Xers are worried about being able to retire and only 60 percent feel confident in their finances. Below, we break down the top financial stressors affecting Gen X workers.

Gen X’s Credit Card Debt Is a Big Part of Their Financial Stress

Gen X has the most overall debt than any other generation, a significant portion of which comes from credit card debt. Those between the ages of 45 and 54 have an average of $9,096 in credit card debt, and people who are 45-44 have the second-highest level of debt — $8,235. Because credit card debt typically carries higher interest rates than any other debt, the debt problem facing Gen X is particularly harmful.

To make matters worse, a study from PwC found that a majority — 60 percent — of Gen Xers consistently carry balances on their credit cards and 2 in 5 find it difficult to make their minimum credit card payments on time each month.

How Financial Stress Affects Gen X at Work

Gen Xers also report feeling the least happy at work and a quarter note better job security as their top priority for achieving future financial goals. A mere 68 percent of Gen X workers feel happy at work, compared to 74 percent of boomers and 75 percent of Millennials

This discontent at work stems from a variety of sources, including a lack of respect from employers, limited opportunities for upward mobility and sparse management and development skills training. Further, Gen X’s workplace unhappiness directly connects to their financial stressors — about two-thirds say that their compensation at work is not keeping up with the rising cost of their living expenses.

Financial Stress and Retirement Savings

Gen X is advancing quickly towards retirement, but 67 percent say they are not confident that they will be able to retire when they want to and one-third have already withdrawn from their retirement funds to cover expenses.

More than half of Gen X report feeling significantly or somewhat behind on their retirement savings and 18 percent do not plan to retire at all, according to a survey from MetLife. Compared to Millennials and Baby Boomers, these numbers make Gen Xers the least secure in their retirement plans.

Gen Xers note financial matters as their main cause of stress, making financial wellness an essential workplace conversation given the stressors outlined above. Programs like Best Money Moves can help alleviate the problem for both employees and employers. Best Money Moves is a mobile, gamified and easy-to-use financial wellness program. It provides practical, unbiased help so employees can make smarter financial decisions and manage the debt they have.

More on Financial Stress

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What Is Financial Literacy and Why Is It Important?

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.

Financial Wellness as an Employee Engagement Strategy

by ryanwangman | Sep 4, 2019 | Blog

Financial wellness as an employee engagement strategy. If you want to improve employees’ productivity, start with the heart of the problem.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your employees’ productivity, start with tackling their financial stress — not only will you bolster engagement, you’ll also boost your bottom line.

Financial Stress Is Affecting Employee Engagement

That’s because employee financial stress is costing American businesses $500 billion per year, according to a recent survey of over 10,000 Americans. Employee financial stress finds its way into the workplace, as workers spend an average of three hours a week thinking about their personal finances on the job.

According to the same study, that lost productivity represents between 11 and 14 percent of payroll expenses per employee, per year. Additionally, employees stressed by their personal finances report more than 56 percent more absences than their co-workers. For businesses that don’t provide financial wellness programs, this stress adds up and decreases their income.

This stress is felt across a variety of different areas. For instance, over two-thirds of financially stressed employees say they consistently carry credit card balances each month, according to research by PwC. Additionally, 68 percent of those employees have saved less than $50,000 for retirement.

Financial Wellness Programs Can Help With Employee Engagement

While the range of financial problems your employees are facing can vary — from a lack of retirement savings to mounting student loan debt — the first step to help them address the situation is to provide a comprehensive understanding of it. A majority of employees still want to make their own decisions when it comes to their financial lives — but they also want a resource that will help validate their decisions. The most desired employer benefit for one in four employees is a financial wellness program with access to unbiased counselors.

Among employees who were provided a financial wellness program by their employer, 71 percent say they’ve used the benefit, and the programs are particularly popular among Millennials and Baby Boomers. Usage of the programs is up as well, with just 49 percent of employees using these same programs in 2015.

Financial wellness programs give you a competitive advantage in the hiring market as well. Seventy-eight percent of employees who reported being stressed about their finances said they would be attracted to another company that cared more about their financial wellbeing.

More On Financial Wellness and Employee Engagement

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