Financial education is an essential element of employee support

The cost of living crisis means many employees are facing severe financial stress with little understanding of how to manage their finances. They are turning to their employers for support ­— and financial education should be at the heart of that support.

Employees and employers benefit from financial education

Mercer can help you put a financial education programme together quickly and effectively so that you can start supporting your workforce.

The benefits of financial education are wide-ranging and apply to the employer as well as employees. Workers who can manage their finances are healthier, more engaged and happier. These positives in turn support your corporate goals.

77%

of employees say that money worries impact them at work*

Employer

  • Supports employers broader wellbeing initiatives
  • Helps to reduces cases of absenteeism and presentism
  • Increases productivity and return on investment
  • Retains and attracts quality people
  • Supports diversity, equity and inclusion agenda
  • Improves engagement through communication
  • Supports workforce transformation

Employee

  • Improves understanding of company benefit strategy
  • Improves financial skills
  • Reduces financial stress
  • Improves mental and physical health
  • Increases engagement
  • Allows employees to create plans for their future/explore options
  • Allows employees to retire

Our approach to employee financial education

Our Financial Education team offers holistic financial education and guidance solutions that can support an entire workforce.

We understand how financial education interacts with mental health, physical and social wellbeing.

Our aim is to equip employers and employees with the tools to navigate life's financial challenges and opportunities.

We provide off-the-shelf and bespoke solutions that can be co-created with the employer to improve the lives of more people.

The 4 pillars of financial wellbeing

  1. Control over the day-to-day
    Not overspending income; debt and expenses are manageable
  2. Freedom to make choices in life
    Build financial resiliency; access to resources or financial guidance
  3. Prepared for the unexpected
    Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock
  4. On track for the future
    Having a plan for the future; keeping on track

The 4 elements to our proposition - our offering from an education perspective

  1. Financial fundamentals
    • All the things you should have learnt in school but didn’t. The aim is to improve understanding of high level financial topics to empower individuals to make better choices
  2. Pension scheme change
    • We help individuals understand the impact of any changes to their pension scheme to better inform and make choices
  3. Retirement journey
    • We provide detailed pre-retirement workshops in order to ensure that individuals have a plan for their retirement and understand the appropriate next steps for them to take
  4. Employer support services
    • We provide sessions to individuals on a range of topics that support engagement and the employers strategic initiatives
At Mercer we deliver education by combining traditional and digital methods. We can be on site to deliver face-to-face education sessions and one-to-one guidance conversations or deliver online sessions. We have also developed a cost of living digital solution which includes a range of videos and references to help people navigate the four pillars of financial wellbeing.
Incredibly helpful and timely. Lots of food for thought, I feel positive and motivated to take back control and reorganise myself. Great course, well presented, explained easily and concise. Great interactive course, really helpful.

We can help you integrate financial wellbeing into your strategy

Our ambition is to improve the financial wellbeing of workforces and beyond through education, guidance and advice to make a positive difference in more people’s lives.

Mercer can help you integrate financial wellbeing into your wider wellbeing strategy. For example, we can support employees to help them:

  • Manage their debts
  • Deal with budgeting
  • Get their savings back on track
  • Better understand their pensions

We provide support for employees across these four main areas of financial wellbeing:

  • The financial fundamentals — the basics to put people on the path to managing their money
  • Employee change — supporting employees through periods of transition, including pension scheme change or redundancy
  • The journey to retirement — from pre-retirement workshops to personal guided support, retirement packs, at-retirement advice and pensions tax
  • Individual financial advice to support those with complex financial needs to ensure the best financial outcomes

Changes in the world of work mean we need to blend traditional and digital ways of engaging with employees for maximum impact. This approach provides information relevant to the individual and is more efficient. Online sessions use 40%–60% less employee time than face-to-face learning and allow people to get back to their desks more quickly.

Get in touch for more information.

Related products for purchase
Curated
Related solutions
Related insights
Related podcasts
Related events
Related case studies