healthcare Archives

How Many Americans Struggle with Financial Stress? The Answer May Surprise You

by Emily Pfund | Oct 28, 2016 | Blog

How many Americans struggle with financial stress? The answer may surprise you. Even though the Great Recession is mostly behind us, the majority of Americans are still stressing out about their finances.

In a recent study by Northwestern Mutual, 85 percent of people surveyed said they feel financial anxiety and 28 percent said they worry about their finances every day. On top of that, 36 percent said their stress about financial issues has increased, rather than decreased, over the last three years.

That’s a lot of financial angst. It takes a toll, and not just in one area of your life. Northwestern Mutual asked these financially stressed adults how their financial stress impacts the rest of their lives and here’s what they said:

70 percent said it’s negatively impacting their happiness
70 percent said it’s negatively impacting their moods
69 percent said it’s negatively impacting their ability to pursue their dreams or interests
67 percent said it’s negatively impacting their health
61 percent said it’s negatively impacting their home life
51 percent said it’s negatively impacting their social life
41 percent said it’s negatively impacting their career

Basically, the study found that stress and anxiety about your finances bleed into almost every other facet of your life. It’s difficult to focus on your job or enjoy downtime with friends and family if your focus is always on your money and how you’ll make ends meet this month. And, money continues to be the top-cited factor in divorce.

An employee’s financial stress impacts the people around them at work too. For example, A report from Health Affairs found that employees reporting high levels of stress cost their employers an average of $413 more per year than their more relaxed coworkers, according to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Add that to the business costs of a stressed employee’s reduced productivity, and employers have a big interest in seeing that their employees are financially stable.

The CFPB’s report also cites a study that found employees who underwent nine hours of classroom financial wellness training and had up to five one-on-one counseling sessions with a financial planner measurably improved their financial health. Employee’s requests for loans from their 401(k) accounts – often a last-ditch attempt to make ends meet – stopped entirely and their installment debts decreased by 14 percent. They were also less likely to be paying their bills late.

We know that financial stress isn’t limited to your finances. That’s why the Best Money Moves team is so dedicated to helping people dial down the root causes of financial stress. We ask employees to tell us what’s stressing them out, and we provide the information and tools they need to target that stress point and relieve it, whether they need to get out of debt, build a savings safety net or work toward their financial goals. If they ever need guidance along the way, our accredited Money Coaches are just a phone call away, 24 hours a day.

Want to try it for yourself? Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com to get a free trial!

How Employee Benefits Changed Over 20 Years

by Emily Pfund | Sep 30, 2016 | Blog

A lot of things have changed since 1996. Cell phones are smaller and smarter, the Internet is a whole lot faster and superfoods like kale are now in everything from cookies to chocolate.

Welcome to the new age. It turns out that in the same 20 years employers have also made some big changes in the benefits they offer their employees. In its 2016 Employee Benefits research report, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) looked back at some of the changes in the industry since the organization started issuing these reports in 1996.

While it doesn’t mention a change in the number of office ping pong tables or La Croix-filled refrigerators, it does illustrate some big shifts in the benefits employers choose to focus on.

What’s in:

Telecommuting. In 1996, only 20 percent of companies offered employees the opportunity to work remotely. Thanks to the internet, that number has tripled to 60 percent, giving employees more flexibility.

Professional development opportunities and memberships. Three quarters of companies offered to cover additional training and education for their employees in 1996. Now 86 percent of employers offer this benefit, encouraging more workers to continue learning and adding to their skill sets. In addition, 88 percent of today’s employers cover the cost of membership to professional organizations and trade groups for their employees, up from 65 percent in 1996.

Health Wellness benefits. Over half (54 percent) of employers offered some form of health wellness program in 1996. Now, 72 percent of employers offer such programs. Popular plans include giving discounts on insurance premiums or adding cash to health savings accounts (HSA) plans if certain health goals are met, such as reducing cholesterol and giving up smoking. In addition, nearly a third (31 percent) offer weight loss programs, up slightly from 29 percent in 1996.

What’s out:

Employee stock purchase plans. Very few companies – just 9 percent – offer employees stock purchase plans in 2016, but more than a quarter (28 percent) did in 1996.

Credit union membership. Employers in 1996 loved credit unions (they often offer lower interest rates and fees than other banks) and 70 percent offered credit union membership as an employee benefit. Today, only 23 percent offer these memberships.

Health care premium flexible spending accounts. The health insurance industry has changed drastically since 1996, especially with the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and fewer employers are offering flex spending accounts to help employees cover their healthcare expenses. Only 39 percent of employers offer the benefit now, compared to 54 percent in 1996.

What’s next:

Most companies offer a handful of financial wellness programs, notably a 401(k) account. And, many employers will contribute to the employee’s account, usually in the form of a match or profit-sharing. But employers know that matching contributions doesn’t mean that employees will take advantage of what is essentially free money.

That’s why more than 90 percent of employers are looking to add to their financial wellness programs. Because while the programs are being offered, employees don’t have the cash leftover at the end of the month to participate.

At Best Money Moves, we believe employees are under tremendous financial pressures. So, we focus on helping employees take a deeper look at what’s causing their financial stress. And, then we dial it down by pushing relevant information, tools and calculators that can help solve the problems.

Here’s the good news for employers: If your workforce has less financial stress, they’ll be more productive and engaged, retention will rise and absenteeism will go down.

We can help. Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com for a free trial and to learn how we can help your employees be happier, healthier and more productive.

HOW FINANCIAL STRESS AFFECTS EMPLOYEES

by admin | Jun 19, 2016 | Blog

Making ends meet remains a daily struggle for women, millennials, African-Americans, Hispanics and those without a high school education, according to the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) published by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

That means your employee are suffering from the effects of now knowing how to manage the income you pay them, running up extraordinary amounts of debt, and the high emotional costs of expenses they haven’t planned for, including cars and mechanical systems that break down, health care costs (including from high-deductible health care plans), and aging relatives.

Two-thirds of North American employers offer their workers financial education, according to a new report from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Even so, nearly half of organizations rate their workforce as only a little bit or not at all financially savvy. According to the IEFBP’s report, “Financial Education for Today’s Workforce: 2016 Survey Results,” employers are reporting more financial challenges among employees today than five years ago and are seeing these challenges reflected in the day-to-day operations of their workplace.

The report, which includes responses from organizations in the U.S. and Canada revealed that employees are struggling financially and are stressed over:

Debt (66 percent of respondents)
Saving for retirement (60 percent)
Saving or paying for children’s education (51 percent)
Covering basic living expenses (48 percent)
Paying for medical expenses (36 percent)

Financial stress is causing all sorts of issues for employees, which in turn cause headaches for employers. According to another study, “Finding the Links Between Retirement, Stress and Health,” published by Lockton Retirement Services, highly or moderately-stressed employees are much more likely to miss work and be less productive.

According to the executive summary, financial stress finds its way to the workplace in the forms of illness, absenteeism, and decreased productivity. Respondents with high levels of stress were more than four times as likely to suffer from symptoms of fatigue, headache, depression, or other ailments. They were also twice as likely to report poor health overall.

Often, this group would be absent or disengaged from their work. They were twice as likely to use sick time when they were not ill and more likely to report being nonproductive. Half of all respondents reported using work time to review financial statements or pay bills. Those with lower levels of savings felt especially distracted; 10 percent of people with less than $100,000 in assets said their work productivity suffered a great deal due to financial stress.

If you’re worried about how financial stress is affecting your workforce, call us. Best Money Moves measures and dials down financial stress. You’ll see a more productive, empowered and healthier workforce as a result.

How you can help lower employee financial stress

by admin | Jun 19, 2016 | Blog

Maybe you’ve noticed a faraway look in your employees eyes as you approach them. The few extra personal days they take. Leaving a bit early. Coming in a bit late.

Then you get the productivity reports: They’re down. Turnover is rising. Employee engagement is down.

And, this: More of your employees are spending time in the HR corridor, talking with your HR staff about their own personal financial problems.

We’ve heard this story all over the country, as HR staff talk about trying to counsel employees about their personal financial troubles – but they don’t feel qualified, since many of them are in debt and struggling to make the numbers work, too.

We know stress makes people sick. Financial stress makes them even sicker. But up until now, employers haven’t wanted to engage on this topic because it speaks to the heart of the biggest issue between employees and employers: pay.

Employers believe is they ask their employees why they’re so stressed financially, the answer will be “I need more money.” And, no employer wants to hear that.

The truth is, if you don’t know how to control your cash, no amount of money will be enough. How do we know? Look at lottery winners. Most people who win the lottery are broke in two years.

Sure, everyone will take a raise, but the simple truth is that no matter how much you earn, if you spend more than you take home each year, you’ll be broke. And, that is true whether you earn $35,000 or $350,000 per year.

But you can help your employees lower their stress levels. Just give them Best Money Moves. We’re a mobile-first tool that helps employees measure their financial stress in 14 different categories, and then use a unique content-mapping system to provide the exact information they need to help them solve their problem and dial down financial stress. We utilize a a point-based reward system that encourages your employees take a fresh look at their finances. And if it’s all too overwhelming, and financial stress levels soar, we push them to call our nonprofit Money Coaches, who can walk them through their budget and help find ways to reduce their financial stress.

Mostly, we help your employees understand that they can control their cash and lead less stressful, more productive lives.

Call us today. Best Money Moves. It’s the best move you can make to help your employees become a more productive, engaged and empowered workforce.