5 Financial Wellness Benefits Employees Want in 2025

Key takeaways:

• Employees in 2025 seek financial wellness benefits like Earned Wage Access and savings programs.
• Providing personalized financial education can empower employees to manage their finances.
• Implementing these benefits can lead to increased job satisfaction and loyalty.

Research data and market trends point to a change in the mindset of the American workforce in 2025. People don’t want a better job from their employer; they want a better life. They’re no longer looking to companies just for a paycheck. Employers need to send their people and prospects a message that says: “If you come work for us, not only are you going to be paid well, but your life is going to be better because we’re going to invest in you — in your mental, financial health, and physical health beyond medical benefits.”

Employee benefits are closely linked to how much employees feel their company values them. Workers want their employers to recognize them as individuals and care about their well-being both in and outside of the workplace. They’re looking for companies that understand their stressors and offer innovative benefits and perks that go beyond the standard offerings.

Why Financial Wellness Employee Benefits Matter in 2025

Financial well-being benefits are essential, as they form the basis for all other benefits. When employees have their financial matters under control, they are more likely to engage with other benefits and be more involved in their work. Recent research conducted by Ramsey SmartDollar, found that after the implementation of financial wellness employee benefits, 74% of employees felt that their company cared about them and their future (versus 41% without a benefit).

In this climate, it’s essential that employers develop comprehensive benefits packages that support their employees’ financial health. The best workplace financial wellness initiatives focus on the following elements:

• Building employees’ financial literacy.
• Improving their ability to confidently manage their finances.
• Ensuring they can absorb unexpected financial shocks.
• Allowing them to set and steadily advance toward short- and long-term financial goals.

Top 5 Financial Wellness Benefits for 2025

1. Financial Education Programs

Employer-sponsored financial planning programs are designed to help employees with everything from the basics of financial literacy to more complex personal financial decisions, like maximizing 401(k) contributions and structuring their health insurance plans.

Additionally, workplace financial wellness initiatives can give employees the skills they need to deal with crises or significant life events such as:

• Marriage and partnering.
• Buying or selling a home.
• Navigating the college journey.
• Having or adopting a child.
• Losing a loved one.
• Illness and injury.
• Caring for an aging loved one.

When selecting your company’s financial wellness service provider, it’s vital to ensure they offer unbiased education and guidance from accredited consultants who are not associated with the sale of any specific financial products. Also, look for service providers that offer live services during business hours and on-demand resources such as educational articles, videos, and other digital tools and calculators that address common financial well-being topics.

2. Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

Like home ownership, retirement has become a financial milestone that isn’t guaranteed for today’s employees. Increasing numbers of Americans aren’t meeting their retirement goals as they struggle financially due to high inflation and high interest rates.

More than half of Americans working full-time, part-time or who are temporarily unemployed feel their retirement savings aren’t where they should be, according to Bankrate’s latest Retirement Savings Survey. Many are doubtful they’ll be able to meet their goals — 48% of employees who have set a specific retirement goal think it’s unlikely they’ll be able to save enough to realize it.

Some are also deprioritizing their retirement contributions to focus on paying for their day-to-day essentials. Unfortunately, that puts them at risk of being unable to enjoy their golden years.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans let employees contribute pretax dollars that grow tax-deferred until retirement. These plans can go a long way to addressing the financial stress employees experience around securing a comfortable retirement. 

3. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Employees’ ability to afford health care is being stretched. These statistics illustrate how the current cost of healthcare impacts employee well-being:

• In recent years, health care costs in the U.S. have grown faster than inflation.
• The U.S. far exceeds other large and wealthy nations in per capita health spending, and health care represents a far larger share of the economy in the U.S. than in peer nations.
• Elevated health care expenditure in the U.S., however, doesn’t necessarily translate into better health outcomes.

Rising health care costs contribute to many people facing difficulties affording medical care and prescription medication, even among those with insurance.

For these reasons, more employers are introducing health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Both are tax-advantaged financial wellness benefits tools designed to help employees save money on their medical expenses.

These accounts are great vehicles to empower workers to put aside money for both medical emergencies and routine health expenses.

Did you know?

The qualified medical expenses employees can use with their HSA or FSA funds are generally the same. These include co-pays for doctor’s visits, over-the-counter and prescription medications, eyeglasses, dental care, and more.

4. Access to Emergency Funds

Financial wellness benefits like emergency savings accounts (ESAs) help employees bridge financial gaps. These expense perks can be a lifeline for the many workers who don’t have an adequate emergency fund. Consider these statistics:

• More than 2 in 3 Americans worry they wouldn’t be able to cover their living expenses if they lost their job.
• Only around 2 in 5 Americans would be able pay for an emergency from their savings.

Using ESAs, companies help their workers build emergency funds through automatic deposits from their paychecks.

5. Earned Wage Access

The timing of pay can directly impact employees’ ability to pay bills or unexpected expenses on time. Thanks to advances in financial technology, today’s workers can have instant access to the money they’ve earned instead of waiting to be paid during the next bi-weekly or monthly pay cycle. This modern payroll model, known as Earned Wage Access (EWA), has become a highly sought-after financial wellness benefit.

Essentially, EWA allows companies to give their workers more control over their financial liquidity, therefore improving their financial health. Workers are empowered to make spending and savings decisions that best suit themselves and their families. Best of all, having access to their wages on-demand helps them avoid high-interest payday loans or overdraft fees.

Did you know?

75% of people say Payactiv’s EWA has helped them cope with inflationary pressures, and 70% of users report improved satisfaction with their employer because of Payactiv.

Towards Financial Stability and Resilience for All

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, workers are increasingly looking for support from their employers with their finances. With a well-established link between financial stress and productivity, there’s every reason why financial well-being should be at the top of every company’s agenda.

As we’ve explored, the best financial wellness programs focus on enabling employees to properly understand what’s in their control, what opportunities lie ahead, and how to capitalize on those opportunities to improve their circumstances and achieve their financial goals.

With growing awareness of how financial ups, downs, and unknowns are affecting their workers, leading businesses are partnering with Payactiv to develop financial wellness programs that address their employees’ financial stress. Learn more about Payactiv today!

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