Financial education helps employees cope with life issues, research finds

Financial education in the workplace can help employees to cope with life issues, with 48 per cent believing that it would enable them to save for retirement, according to a report from Capita Employee Benefits.

The Insight report surveyed over 1,800 employees aged 16 or over in the UK and found that over 75 per cent believe that being provided with financial education would enable them to cope with issues such as saving for retirement or saving up for a deposit on a mortgage.

Benefits

The survey highlighted other benefits of employer-provided financial education, with 22 per cent of respondents believing that it would enable them to learn how to live within a budget and 21 per cent saying that it would educate them on how to manage and pay off their debts.

Financial education was found to be particularly important for younger employees, with 37 per cent of 16 to 34-year-olds wanting it to provide them with a better understanding of their overall income and 30 per cent wanting to have access to it to enable them to learn how they can save up for a mortgage.

The research also identified the ways in which employees would like to be provided with financial education, with 35 per cent of respondents aged over 55 preferring to have one-to-one meetings with their company’s HR department or their line manager. Younger and middle-aged employees would rather have access to financial education online, with this method being cited by 35 per cent.

Compelling

Capita Employee Benefits Research and Engagement Manager Gareth Davies commented: “The case for financial education is compelling. A workforce that is more financially-aware and educated with less stress can only be a good thing for an organisation.”