What is Financial Wellness — and Why Should It Matter to Your Team? After the pandemic, Financial Wellness is in greater focus than ever before. Here’s what to know about this important wellness benefits.

After the financial upheaval of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, financial wellness has come to the forefront of many HR plans. But what exactly is financial wellness — and Why Should It Matter to Your Team?

What is financial wellness?

Financial wellness or financial health is one facet of your overall well being, much like mental, emotional or physical health. It refers to the stability of your personal finances. 

Everyone’s financial situation and needs are different, so there’s no one way to be financially healthy. However financial wellness can usually be determined by the indicators such as the size and accessibility of your savings, your retirement preparedness, your creditworthiness and more.

Are financial wellness and physical wellness connected?

Like any other type of stress, chronic financial stress affects the hormone balance in your body. Consequently, this can lead to physical symptoms ranging from from sleep loss and migraines, to muscle aches and high blood pressure. In fact, according to a report from PwC, more than 30 percent of employees say their health has been impacted by their financial worries. 

The physical effects aren’t just the symptoms caused directly by the stress itself. Financial insecurity can have a serious impact on access to care. Individuals often skip buying or refilling their medicine because of the cost. A 2019 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of Americans failed to take their medication as prescribed because of the cost. 

The state of financial health has the biggest impact on Americans with chronic diseases. According to Forbes, 56% of Americans with chronic diseases say they’ve missed medication because of the cost.

Why should your workforce be thinking about financial wellness?

COVID-19 left most Americans in a worse financial state than it found them. As it stands, 63% of workers claim their financial stress has increased since the start of the pandemic, according to PwC’s 2021 Employee Financial Wellness Survey. This number is unsurprising, when you consider the pandemic’s effect on employment, emergency savings, and physical health. 

Thankfully, employers are listening. Financial wellness is trending upwards. According to a study by MassMutual, 86% of employers characterize financial wellness programs as important. 

One major key to incorporating financial wellness into your company’s benefits is finding a program that fits the particular individuals you employ. Everyone’s financial stress is personal, and they deserve a personalized set up.

Best Money Moves is a human-centered and individualized approach to financial wellbeing. The comprehensive and user-friendly platform provides a plethora of financial resources and educational tools. The library of resources contains over 700 articles, videos, and calculators. Each Best Money Moves user has their personal feed tailored to the several distinct factors that monitor their personal stress. This means your employee can use Best Money Moves to educate themselves on anything from investing in the stock market to co-signing loans to buying their first home. 

Employee information is always private but employers do have access to key analytics that show overall employee financial stress and stress levels over time. The Employer Dashboard also features information on program usage, debt and savings levels and more so employers can see just how valuable Best Money Moves is to their employees.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.