Two studies from Alight Solutions indicate that there’s a disconnect between how much financial help workers think they should be getting from their employers and how much help those employers think they should give.

According to the 2017 Financial Mindset Study and the 2018 Hot Topics in Retirement & Financial Wellbeing report, workers consistently said they want more help across a variety of financial topics than employers believe they should offer, beyond basic retirement savings and insurance services.

Even for basic services, employees are out there ahead of employers:

88 percent of employees say bosses should provide help saving for retirement, compared with 84 percent of employers
84 percent of workers want help in getting disability insurance, compared with 71 percent of employers
81 percent of workers want help getting life insurance, while just 68 percent of employers think they should provide that help

But the divide is considerably greater outside those basic areas.

Half of workers want help getting identity protection services; just 24 percent of bosses think they should provide that help.

Similar or greater gulfs loom between them on saving for kids’ education (workers, 47 percent; bosses, 20 percent); help with debt management (workers, 46 percent; bosses, 23 percent); help with paying off or financing student loan debt (workers, 46 percent; bosses, 18 percent); saving for short-term needs (workers, 45 percent; bosses, 18 percent); establishing an emergency fund (workers, 44 percent; bosses, 22 percent); and creating or managing a budget (workers, 36 percent; bosses, 19 percent).

“While companies have been moving in the right direction by broadening the types of financial wellbeing tools and resources they provide, workers are still asking for more help,” Rob Austin, head of research at Alight Solutions, says in a statement.

Austin adds, “Offering help for every financial topic isn’t practical or necessary, but there is an opportunity for companies to determine the financial issues that are most relevant and pressing for their people and provide support in the areas that will be the most meaningful. Our research suggests that people who have access to broader financial wellbeing programs are more confident in their current financial situation and are better prepared to build a more secure financial future.”

Instant Insights /

Workers want more help in finance than employers think they should provide

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