At a Glance | March 19, 2020 Emergency Savings Is a Common Benefit; Employers Cite Varying Reasons 1 Only 1 in 5 families have liquid savings of more than three months of their income. EBRI looks at employers’ motives and goals for addressing the issue. FOCUS ON EMERGENCY FUNDS EBRI Classified a Subset of “Emergency-Fund-Focused Employers” Among All 2019 Financial Wellbeing Survey Respondents More than 4 in 10 employers with an interest in offering financial 7% wellness programs said they offer Not Sure Does your company or plan to offer an emergency 49% offer emergency 44% fund/employee hardship savings fund Don’t Plan Offer or Plan assistance. to Offer assistance? to Offer +4444 49+49+77+J TOP CONCERNS Top Three Issues Faced by Employees That Employer Financial Wellness Initiatives Are Designed to Address Retirement preparedness All Respondents vs. Emergency-Fund-Focused Respondents factored strongly into top issues emergency-fund-focused Preparing for Retirement 40% 35% employers hope to address with financial wellness initiatives. Effective Utilization of Available 11% 15% Preparing for unexpected expenses Benefits was nearly twice as commonly cited Preparing for Unexpected/ 7% 13% by such employers vs. all survey Emergency Expenses 0% 50% respondents. TOP REASONS FOR OFFERING Percentage of Respondents Choosing as Top Reasons for Offering Financial FINANCIAL WELLNESS INITIATIVES Wellness Initiatives and Factors Measuring Their Success All Respondents (All) vs. Emergency-Fund-Focused Respondents (EFF) VS. FACTORS FOR MEASURING THEIR SUCCESS Top Reasons for Offering Top Factors in the Measurement Notably, there is often a disconnect All EFF Financial Wellness Initiatives All EFF of Initiative Success between reasons given for offering Improved Overall Worker financial wellness initiatives ( ) and Satisfaction approaches to measuring their Reduced Employee Financial Stress success ( ) for both EFF and all respondents. Improved overall Improved Employee Use of worker satisfaction was cited as a Existing Benefits reason for offering financial wellness initiatives far more often by EFF and Improved Employee Retention all employers vs. as a success measure. However, while improved Increased Employee Productivity work force management was equally cited as a reason and as a Improved Work Force Management success measure by all employers, it for Retirement was twice as commonly cited as a Improved Employee Recruitment success measure vs. a reason by EFF 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% employers. 1. EBRI estimate of the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. SOURCE: Lori Lucas, “Emergency-Fund-Focused Employers: Goals, Motivations, and Challenges,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 500 (Employee Benefit Research Institute, February 13, 2020). © 2020 EBRI This report is copyrighted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). You may copy, print, or download this report solely for personal and noncommercial use, provided that all hard copies retain any and all copyright and other applicable notices contained therein, and you may cite or quote small portions of the report provided that you do so verbatim and with proper citation. Any use beyond the scope of the foregoing requires EBRI’s prior express permission. For permissions, please contact EBRI at permissions@ebri.org.