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American workers, especially the nation's youngest employees, increasingly want their employers to offer financial programs to help them save, invest and navigate insurance choices.
According to the latest wave of Logica's Future of Money report, 81% of employees indicated they think it is important for employers to offer programs designed to help them manage finances, up from 75% in Fall 2023. Moreover, 91% of Gen Z and 87% of millennials indicated employer-based financial programs are important. This is noteworthy as the report also discovered that Gen Z in particular is focused more on saving than other generations and keeps about 36% of their money in savings, compared with 26% among other generations.
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The top three areas where employees want employers to help are:
- knowing how much to save to meet financial goals,
- how to make the most of a 401(k) or retirement account, and
- what type of and how much insurance to have.
Americans are also interested in learning about the basics of investing, how to choose investments that match their goals, and learning to manage their money in an increasingly uncertain economy.
While employers are expected to help employees understand these financial concepts, financial advisors remain a leading source of advice, according to the study. Gen Z trusts financial advisors for many areas related to money management, but they are more likely to go to family and friends for budgeting advice compared to other generations.
The top areas of interest for employer help are "knowing how much to save to meet my goals"(77%), "how to make the most of 401k or retirement account" (76%) and "knowing how much insurance to have" (76%). "The kind of help that employees are looking for goes beyond retirement planning to include help with setting a budget, choosing investments, knowing how to use an HSA, choose insurance and more," said Logica CEO Lilah Raynor. "Employees are very interested in having this support come from a person, such as a professional financial advisor, along with other types of resources such as learning tools and technology. Employers who provide access to these resources can deepen employee engagement and help create financial stability for employees."
Related: Americans have high anxiety about their retirement: How employers can lend support
Meanwhile, Americans are taking on significantly more debt today than they did just a year ago. Nearly two-thirds of Americans have debt, averaging approximately $20,000 in outstanding loans not including mortgages. Credit card debt is the most common, with one in 10 Americans also having personal loans.
Americans with debt report they have lived paycheck to paycheck and been unable to save for the future, big purchases or retirement, according to the report.
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