Financial wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important issue for employers. But what are the benefits of promoting good financial wellbeing among your workforce?

The answer is simple – employees with greater wellbeing tend to feel happier, work longer, are more productive, and are great advocates for your business.

The business benefits of financial wellbeing

Maintaining good wellbeing can also add real value to your organisation. A recent study from Deloitte found that during the COVID pandemic, the estimated annual cost to employers of poor mental health was £53-£56bn. It also suggested that investing in measures to tackle workplace mental health problems is giving employers an estimated average return of £5.30 for every £1 spent¹.

The cost of living crisis is now putting extra pressure on vast numbers of working households and adding to financial worries, one of the major contributors to stress and poor wellbeing.

If your business is prioritising financial stability and good mental health practices, you stand to gain the most during this time of economic uncertainty. Having a solid financial wellbeing plan is a real win-win for employers – a low cost, high return strategy that attracts and retains happier, more productive workers and creates a culture of successful business.

How pensions can boost financial wellbeing

Pensions are playing a vital role in helping businesses improve their financial wellbeing plans. We know this because of the feedback we’ve been hearing from the employers we work with, who we’re continuing to support to build stronger financial foundations for themselves and their employees.

For example, we work closely with a number of organisations who have embraced our Communications Toolkit – which contains easy-to-use resources that they’re using to raise awareness and understanding of pensions and financial wellbeing with their workers. This is important, as our research shows employees are more likely to engage with information about their pension if it comes directly from their employer (rather than a third party).

Employers using the Toolkit can expect a tangible increase in the number of their staff registering their pension online, as they get to understand that their pension pot is part of their net worth. They’re also more likely to make other actions such as nominating a pension beneficiary. This helps us get their pension money to their loved ones when it matters, if the worst were to happen.

The result is these employees are taking greater control of their savings and feel more empowered about their financial wellbeing – leading to a less stressed, happier workforce.

We’re going further to support your wellbeing plans

We recently launched our new Know your pension webpage, which contains a selection of useful articles and guides answering our members’ most asked questions about pensions and saving for the future. This includes tips on how to improve financial wellbeing and keep it in good health.

We’ll also soon be launching a dedicated financial wellness hub containing even more resources for you to create and build your wellbeing strategy. Stay tuned for more details on this in the coming months.

So, what’s the next step? We’d recommend reviewing our links and toolkit material to see how this could fit into your staff engagement activity. Our dedicated support team are also here to help. Contact us on 01293 205556 or at nbsupport@peoplespartnership.co.uk.