Figure 3 Share of Firms Using Outside Help in Designing Their Financial Wellness Strategy Dif ferent work forces have different needs, and this may vary across industries, necessitating different 80% benef its. Our analysis finds that finance and insurance businesses were most likely to offer eight or more 71% fi nancial wellbeing benefits, followed closely by manufacturing firms and agricultural firms, shown August 14, 2025, #541 70% below in Figure 2. Construction firms, meanwhile, were most likely to not offer any financial wellbeing benef its at all. Finance and insurance companies were the second most likely to not offer financial 60% wellbe ing benefits, followed by real estate firms. Small Businesses: Leaders vs. Laggards 50% 40% According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 98 percent of businesses in the United States employ fewer than 40% 100 workers. Small businesses are therefore a diverse group. However, compared with larger employers, small employers may have difficulties providing their workers with a wide range of financial wellness 30% benef its. Smaller employers may find it difficult to leverage economies of scale, may not have teams dedicated to sourcing and implementing cutting-edge benefits, and may face financial constraints. 20% Figure 2 Share of Firms Offering 8+ or No Financial Wellness Benefits, by Industry However, a closer examination of EBRI’s Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey reveals a compelling 10% 18% 16.9% — and perhaps counterintuitive — finding within the small employer population. While small empl oyers are more likely to report not offering any financial wellness benefits at all, they are also more 16% 0% 15.1% likely to offer a rich suite of benefits compared with firms employing at least 500 workers, shown below 8 or More Financial Wellbeing Benefits 0 Financial Wellbeing Benefits 13.8% 14% in Figure 1. Small employers are twice as likely as larger employers to report not offering any financial Source: 2024 EBRI Small Employer Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey (FWES). 12.2% wellbeing benefits at all, and they are also about 15 percent more likely to report offering eight or more 12% benefits. 10.1% There are many motivations for offering financial wellbeing benefits, and many reasons why firms 10% 9.2% Figure 1 mi ght choose to offer a few or a wider range. The small employer market appears to be bifurcated: Small Number of Financial Wellbeing Benefits Offered 8% employers are simultaneously more prone to offering no financial wellbeing benefits and more likely to None 1 to 4 Offerings 5 to 7 Offerings 8 or More Offerings provi de a comprehensive suite of eight or more benefits compared with their larger counterparts. This 6% par adox appears to be partially explained by industry-specific needs and resourcefulness, with sectors li ke finance and insurance, manufacturing, and agriculture showing a higher propensity for robust 4% offerings, while others, such as construction, lag behind. Data from the Small Employer Financial 500+ 8% 35% 27% 30% Employees Wellbeing Employer Survey (FWES) also suggest that engaging outside expertise from benefits 2% consul tants or financial wellness vendors is a strong indicator of a firm's capacity and commitment to 0% deli vering a wide array of financial wellness supports. Finance and Insurance Manufacturing Agriculture Construction Finance and Insurance Real Estate 8 or More Financial Wellbeing Benefits 0 Financial Wellbeing Benefits The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a private, nonpartisan, and nonprofit research institute based Source: 2024 EBRI Small Employer Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey (FWES). in Washington, D.C., that focuses on health, savings, retirement, and economic security issues. EBRI 1–99 does not lobby and does not ta 16% ke policy posi 33% tions. The work of EBRI is made poss 17% 34% ible by funding from Employees its members and sponsors, which include a broad range of public and private organizations. For more inf ormation, visit www.ebri.org. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Source: 2024 EBRI Small Employer Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey (FWES). U sing outside help from benefits consultants or financial wellness vendors may be a signifier that a firm What drives this bifurcation? We might hypothesize that offering a wide range of financial wellness is well-resourced and in a good position to offer a multitude of financial wellbeing benefits. We find that benefits might be closely linked with revenue or profitability. Unfortunately, we do not have insights 71 percent of firms that offered at least eight financial wellbeing benefits had turned to outside help in into those metrics, but we can examine other attributes, such as industry, or usage of outside resources designing their financial wellness strategy, compared with only 40 percent of firms that did not, shown such as benefits consultants, which may be associated with the propensity to offer a large suite of below in Fi gure 3. fi nancial wellness benefits. ### © 2025, Employee Benefit Research Institute, 901 D St. SW, Suite 802, Washington, DC 20024, 202/659-0670 | ebri.org 2 3