Financial wellbeing is now considered to be just as important as other aspects of wellbeing such as fitness and nutrition. It can often be overlooked. It is often not spoken about, due to outdated beliefs that talking about money and personal finance is taboo. But in 2021? More and more conversations are being started about the impact that money (money worries in particular) can have on our lives. So is financial planning a great employee benefit? It’s a resounding yes.
Money worries can place individuals under huge amounts of personal stress. This can affect their wellbeing at work too. Financial stress is cited as one of the key reasons of anxiety and depression. But what if you could help your employees to alleviate that?
Financial planning benefits employees and employers. When money is not a worry, employees are more likely to be more fulfilled at work. They are less likely to be worried about bills, retirement, and paying for their next holiday. Instead, they will be focused, without the distraction of financial anxiety. In a nutshell, employees are more likely to be happy and healthy when their money worries are taken care of.
Is financial planning good for employees?
The answer is YES. Financial planning is an opportunity for employees to learn more about personal finance, and become more familiar with managing their money in a way that suits them. Financial education is something we’re not taught at school, we’re not taught at university, and we are often not taught by our parents.
If you can offer financial planning to employees as a benefit? It’s a huge learning and growth opportunity that many other employers simply do not offer. It’s a benefit that can make you stand out to prospective employees, and can also help retain current employees too.
In 2021, talking about money is no longer a taboo. It’s something that when openly discussed, can leave individuals feeling freer, more motivated, and excited for the future. Offering a practical benefit such as financial planning is a huge benefit to employees, who otherwise may not have actively sought out or paid for a session themselves.
Is financial planning a good employee benefit?
Let’s dive in and check out these 11 reasons why financial planning is a great employee benefit.
-
Help your employees use all of their tax allowances so that they are not paying more tax than they need to
Everyone wants to hold onto whatever money they can before taxes are deducted. Who doesn’t want to maximise their pay? By enlisting the help of a financial advisor for some one-to-one sessions, your employees can feel more informed about their tax allowances, and how to make their money go further.
For example- do you employees know about marriage allowance? That they probably have a trading allowance? Or might have a property allowance? In some cases, they may even be eligible for income tax relief.
Tax can be confusing and complicated for most. A financial advisor can really shed some light on this area of personal finance. They might even be able to recommend further learning opportunities and resources.
Your employees will be overjoyed if they can make use of more of their salary and effectively receive a ‘pay rise’ from managing their taxes effectively with the help of a financial advisor.
-
Give them confidence in their financial decisions
As we touched on at the start of this post, we are not taught about personal finance at school. We might not be taught about personal finance at home, and we may even have learned negative beliefs about money from our parents.
Our parents may have told us that ‘money is scarce’, or ‘investing is too risky.’ These beliefs about money can make us unsure about our own financial decisions, they can even block our progress towards achieving a state of financial wellness.
If your employees have someone that they can talk through their financial decisions with, it can give them greater confidence that the choices they are making are right for them. A financial advisor may even be able to suggest alternative routes or choices that the individual may never have heard of or considered before.
This helps to open up new opportunities, and can help foster feelings of contentment and calmness when it comes to personal finance.
You might also be interested in: How To Be Good With Money- Millennial Money Management
-
Improve financial wellbeing among employees
Financial wellbeing is a key part of our overall health and wellness as individuals. We need to start giving personal finance the same level of importance as other wellbeing fields like exercise and nutrition.
It is truly vital that we all have a level of financial understanding and education that can help us to make the right financial decisions for our circumstances. Financial wellbeing is all about financial security, and financial freedom.
During a financial wellbeing workshop, you employees could get a totally new perspective on money. From learning how to adjust their money mindset, to practical skills such as money management, budgeting techniques and financial goal setting.
If you’d like to book a corporate financial wellbeing workshop with me, please contact hello@thriftylondoner.com.
-
Help improve any feelings of financial anxiety
Any stress or worry is going to have a massive impact on an employee’s performance at work. They may become anxious and distracted due to stresses in their personal life. Financial anxiety is a huge concern. Many people experience financial anxiety on a daily basis. Will my card get declined? How much do I have left in my overdraft? Can I pay all of my bills this month?
Financial anxiety is a very real stressor that affects people constantly. Poor financial wellbeing affects mental, physical, and social health which can lead to a lack of presence in the workplace, lack of concentration, and increased levels of absenteeism.
If you are able to give your employees access to some money management strategies, or financial planning strategies as part of a benefits package at work? It may well turn out that it’s the best employee benefit they’ve ever received.
-
Ensuring that they are comfortable with the level of risk they are taking (or not taking) when it comes to investments
Investing can be a bit of a grey area for many, and has long been associated with high risk. However, that is often not the case. Low risk investments also exist! Are your employees aware that their workplace pension is invested? Speaking with a financial advisor may be able to clear up any information gaps or misinformation your employees may have about their pension scheme.
If your employees are able to chat to a financial advisor about their investments, or even about whether they should start investing in the stock market, it can make them feel more comfortable about the decisions they are making.
It’s important that your employees have the chance to invest and grow their money for the future if they wish to. Speaking to a financial advisor about investing could open opportunities for growth for employees which they may not be aware of.
You might also be interested in: How Do You Know When You Are Ready To Start Investing?
-
Fill in any information gaps with financial education
Unless we actively seek out information on personal finance, it is unlikely that we have the tools in place to manage our money effectively, save for the future, save for retirement, and make the right financial choices for ourselves.
Financial education has boundless advantages. People are more likely to live the life that they want to when they are equipped with the right knowledge and education. They are more likely to feel free, in control, and have less anxiety surrounding personal finance.
It’s important for us all to have education around spending, saving, and retirement. It’s important to know exactly where our money is going, and why.
A third of Brits don’t have a pension. That statistic needs to change in order for people to have long term financial security, and long term financial wellness. It all starts with financial education, which you can help provide for your employees through workshops and seminars.
If you’d like to book a corporate financial wellbeing workshop with me, please contact hello@thriftylondoner.com.
-
Can help provide long term financial security for employees
Retirement planning is more important than ever. Due to inflation, it is estimated that most millennial adults will need at least £1 million to comfortably retire. That’s a huge figure, and it’s a difficult figure to reach from just saving into a bank account alone.
Building a retirement plan with a financial planner will help employees feel more secure about the future. A retirement plan can help ease any worries around working in old age, or being unable to provide for children, or affording care if it’s needed.
A financial planner can give an individual a real idea of how much they might need to save for retirement, and how much they’ll need to save or invest each month to get there. A financial planner can build a realistic, achievable vision of how to plan for retirement. They can also answer any questions an employee may have on this topic.
It’s easy to go online and try and work out how much you’ll need to save or invest for retirement. But in reality there are a whole host of other factors at play. Do you own your own home? What assets do you have? How old are you? When do you want to retire? A financial planner can help build a personalised retirement plan for someone, which they may not receive otherwise.
You might also be interested in: How Much Should You Contribute To Your Pension In Your 20s?
-
Employees can set financial goals which improves motivation and commitment
Setting financial goals can be an extremely powerful tool. The setting of financial goals will lead someone to think about life’s ‘bigger picture’ and ensure that they are on the right tracks for where they want to be in the future.
Did you know that when someone regularly writes down a financial goal, they are 42% more likely to achieve it? Coupled with voicing financial goals to friends, loved ones and spouses, this level of accountability can lead to a strong likelihood of success.
In the workplace, setting financial goals can improve motivation and commitment. The main goal might be to buy a house, go on holiday, or even pay off a mortgage. Your employee will be motivated and committed to achieving their financial goals once they have been set.
Keep in mind that your employee will likely get to their goal by working smarter for bonuses, pay rises and other benefits. When your employees are ambitious, it’s a win-win situation for both the employee and the business.
-
Understanding of insurance policies
Insurance policies are a hugely important part of taking care of your personal finance affairs. Since motor insurance is the law, everyone complies with this. However there are several other types of lesser-known insurances that could be a huge asset if a worst-case-scenario were to happen.
For example, many renters do not have a contents insurance policy, and many of us do not have life insurance or income protection insurance. Depending on your employee’s personal situation, they might seriously benefit from one or more of these insurance policies if your workplace does not currently offer them as part of a benefits package.
A financial advisor can talk through various insurance policies, and be able to advise whether they could be beneficial to an employee. Insurance policies can really help someone to achieve financial wellbeing, as they often alleviate any feelings of worry. For example, an employee might worry about what would happen if they became seriously ill and could no longer work. A life insurance policy could help reassure them that their family and their home would be taken care of if they were to fall critically ill.
-
Learn to manage debt
Debt can be crippling, especially if someone can’t see a way out. It can lead to huge financial stress and pressure on an individual. When you are able to formulate a debt pay off plan, and see light at the end of the tunnel, it can be truly life changing.
Most households in the UK have consumer debt to worry about. The average total household debt stands at over £60k. Why not help your employees have once less thing to worry about? Financial anxiety is a real problem. Employers can be part of the solution by providing benefits which aim to improve financial wellbeing for employees.
A financial wellbeing workshop does not have to cost the earth. As a qualified financial coach, I offer corporate financial wellbeing workshops which are affordable and effective. Get in touch with me at hello@thriftylondoner.com for further details.
-
Help build effective communication channels
Did you know that finance is one of the top reasons for divorce in the UK? If someone can talk to an impartial financial advisor to get advice about their financial situation, they can relay that information to their partner. And it soon starts to open up financial discussions at home. This can have a huge impact on overall financial wellbeing, and starts to improve other areas of wellbeing too. Talking about money can improve relationships no end.
When you have the financial tools and the information you need, it can help facilitate open and honest conversations around money. Whether that’s with a partner, friend or parents. Money conversations don’t have to be about hard-hitting topics. It can also be a really fun way to talk about the future and create financial goals.
When a couple or a family have shared financial goals, it can be a very motivational and inspirational way to live life. Once two people are on the same page when it comes to money, there are less fights, more compromises, and more honesty.
Financial wellbeing can positively affect your employees in every aspect of their lives.
Final thoughts on financial planning as an employee benefit
- Financial planning and financial education can benefit both employees and businesses in equal measure. When an employee is happy? The employer is usually happy too.
- Most people are missing information when it comes to financial education. Give your employees a real asset, and offer a practical benefit that has the potential to change their lives.
- As an employer, don’t worry about whether you should be offering something related to personal finance to your employees. By offering an opportunity for employees to improve their financial wellbeing, you are not ‘meddling.’ You are providing a benefit which may not otherwise be sought out.
- Be a leader in 2021 and offer a benefit that other businesses are not. The financial wellbeing movement shows no sign of slowing down. Get on the front foot and make sure that you are offering employees the benefits package that they deserve.
- A financial wellbeing program or workshop can be a budget-friendly way to offer financial literacy and education to your workforce. It’s easy to set up, and has lasting value.