How employers can help employees ‘build their financial houses’

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Much of the talk about financial security tends to focus on long-term investing and accumulating sufficient wealth to retire comfortably. In a world where pensions have largely disappeared and plans to rely on Social Security alone are probably unrealistic, taking a proactive and early approach to saving for retirement is certainly sensible.

But the coronavirus pandemic has shown us that when a current financial crisis must be navigated, simply having a well-funded retirement account can offer little consolation. If a person has been laid off or seen hours reduced due to the far-reaching economic effects of COVID-19, he or she can easily suffer immediate and severe anxiety no matter the size of any retirement nest egg.