Financial Challenges Like Emergency Expenses and Basic Living Costs Impact Worker Performance 

April 2 is National Employee Benefits Day, celebrated annually to recognize those working in employee benefits and the important role they play in their colleagues’ well-being. The 2025 theme is Future-Ready Financial Well-Being: Empowering Employees and Organizations Today, for Tomorrow. To recognize the importance of this topic, the International Foundation is sharing a preview of data from the soon-to-be- released report, Workplace Wellness and Financial Education: 2025 Survey Report.  

The report reveals details about current initiatives and insights into the changing needs of employees as well as the growing importance of wellbeing and financial stability, covering personal factors impacted by financial challenges, impact on work performance and solutions through financial education.  

Financial struggles have a direct impact on employees’ mental health and job performance. Survey results indicate that the following personal factors are most impacted by financial challenges.  

• 62%—Mental health 

• 42%—Presenteeism/inability to focus on work 

• 35%—Morale 

• 29%—Absenteeism/tardiness 

• 27%—Physical health 

Organizations report that the following types of financial challenges have the largest impact on employee performance.  

• 46%—Covering an emergency expense (down from 61% in 2022) 

• 41%—Covering basic living expenses (up from 32% in 2022) 

• 40%—Credit cards and other debt (up slightly from 39% in 2022) 

• 37%—Trouble saving for retirement (down from 44% in 2022) 

• 36%—Paying medical expenses (down from 38% in 2022) 

• 25%—Paying off personal student loan debt (down from 35% in 2022) 

When I spoke to Julie Stich, CEBS, Vice President of Content at the International Foundation, she said, that personal finances can be a large source of stress for many people. Money is a highly personal issue, making it challenging for employers to know what issues to address and how to provide effective education. She also noted that the survey data indicates that prioritizing financial wellness initiatives can not only help improve employees’ personal finances but can also improve worker performance by reducing finance-related stressors.

Financial Education 

Ninety percent of responding organizations recognize that they are responsible for some financial education for employees, with 43% focusing on education for pensions and benefits, encouraging saving for retirement and helping employees become financially literate. Survey data reveals why and how organizations are offering financial education for their employees. 

Reasons for providing financial education include the following. 

• 61%—Increasing workers’ ability to manage their money 

• 60%— Improving workers’ retirement/investment decisions 

• 54%—Improving understanding of current benefits 

• 46%—Improving satisfaction/appreciation of current benefits 

• 43%—Reducing workers’ financial stress to increase job focus 

• 37%—Increasing workers’ savings rates 

Responding organizations indicated employers’ top methods of delivering financial education include employee assistance programs (EAPs) (45%), plan administrators (43%), investment managers/providers (34%) and financial planners (32%). 

The most significant obstacles organizations face in providing financial education include lack of time and resources (40%), lack of interest among workers (39%) and the difficulty of reaching workers across multiple locations and shifts (28%). 

Julie Stich also shared that employers’ capacity to provide financial education varies, but the data shows that offering even limited support and resources at the start of a program can help employee morale and performance. This is especially true for initiatives aimed at providing immediate support and relief.

For more information on Workplace Wellness and Financial Education: 2025 Survey Report, visit www.ifebp.org/research in the coming weeks for full survey data.  Find more information about National Employee Benefits Day, including further resources for employers, at www.ifebp.org/BenefitsDay