Unlocking Well-being: The Impact of Financial Literacy on Health
Discover how overall health and well-being are transformed when employees seek educational guidance through the employee financial well-being solution, My Secure Advantage®.
About the Research
From January 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, My Secure Advantage (MSA) collected data from 28,678 employees covering 3,612 companies that received MSA’s financial well-being solution as a benefit. The research included learning how personal finance is impacting employees’ physical health. It also looked at how health outcomes improve as employees tackle financial needs and goals by completing ongoing coaching sessions with a Money Coach, which is included as part of MSA’s solution.
Data Points & Definitions
MSA’s research of the 28,678 employees was divided into two groups: an Overall Population and a High-Stress Population, and included all of the data below.
The Results: Overall Population (28,678 members)
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Pre): 5.7
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Post): 7.0
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Improvement): 22%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Pre): 43%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Post): 24%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Improvement): 45%
- Avg. Health Score (Pre): 6.1
- Avg. Health Score (Post): 7.5
- Avg. Health Score (Improvement): 22.95%
- Avg. number of coaching sessions: 2.3
- Avg. number of financial topics: 3.0
The Results: High Stress Population (10,644 members) (37%)
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Pre): 3.1
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Post): 4.9
- Avg. Financial Well-being Score (Improvement): 62%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Pre): 82%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Post): 47%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health (Improvement): 43%
- Avg. Health Score (Pre): 3.6
- Avg. Health Score (Post): 5.8
- Avg. Health Score (Improvement): 61.11%
- Avg. number of coaching sessions: 2.1
- Avg. number of financial topics: 3.0
Research Summary
The research data above reveals clear, crucial information that shows a direct correlation between positive health impacts and MSA’s financial well-being solution.
Overall Population Improvements
- Financial Well-being Score: 22%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health: 45%
- Health Score: 22.95%
High-Stress Population Improvements
- Financial Well-being Score: 62%
- Percentage of the population that feels money has a negative impact on their health: 43%
- Health Score: 61.11%
Employees’ Health is Severely Impacted by Money Issues
Employees are facing a crisis: they’re burdened by their personal finances and need a solution that will help them address the severe stress money causes in their lives. For example, from our own surveys, we’ve found that 84% of employees are having difficulty covering their monthly bills. Additionally, 67% have said they don’t have three months of emergency savings.¹
And, as demands continue to grow, their stress, overwhelm, and other health effects will likely also increase and negatively impact their personal and professional lives. It’s as if they’ll never get ahead of their finances.
Employers & The Social Determinants of Health
Our findings here show why personal finance and economic stability continue to be leading indicators in the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). If employees have continuous financial issues (as those surveyed did before using their MSA benefit), they most likely have little room to alleviate their stress, worry, and overwhelm, which can lead to quality of life problems and risks.
According to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)², addressing these determinants through improvement efforts can reduce the cost of healthcare. So, if stress and negative health impacts continue to grow with no intervention, employers may need to expect rising healthcare costs and understand that other areas will be significantly affected as well, including productivity, satisfaction, and retention.
The key to remember here is that the connection between finances and the SDoH is not new. Experts have discussed this for years, and they haven’t found a viable solution. But now, through this research alone, MSA’s financial well-being solution proves to be the intervention program employers need. And with it, they not only can help their employees make immediate improvements but also create lifelong changes in how financial well-being is prioritized and experienced in the workplace.
Bigger Impacts Using MSA’s Financial Well-being Solution
By combining a clinically validated coaching methodology with a digital platform and education, employees are able to get to the root of their personal finance issues and make realistic but long-lasting improvements to their financial well-being and, in turn, their overall health.
The 22.95% and 61.11% respective improvements result from employees who are working with their Money Coach on both short-term and long-term areas of concern that are causing them the most burdens. In return, they’ve become less stressed, have more peace of mind, and have the right support needed to continue with MSA’s program to make even more progress.
Well-being is Guaranteed
As seen above, it only took 2.3 and 2.1 coaching sessions, respectively, for significant improvements to happen. This means that employees immediately responded well to their Money Coaches and found the right balance between coaching, digital platform utilization, and education to help themselves and make transformations very quickly.
It’s also important to note here that program usage did not stop after 2.3 and 2.1 coaching sessions. Employees made the most positive changes at this stage, and with consistent program usage, they continued to make improvements to their finances and health. This shows that MSA’s financial well-being solution is satisfaction-guaranteed and will continue to be as long as time and effort are put into it.
The Bottom Line
With growing stress and health concerns, employees can’t navigate personal finance issues alone any longer. They need a robust, timely financial well-being solution so they can get the confidential support, empathy, and educational guidance they need to address personal finance issues head-on.
By tackling these issues directly, employees can finally take control of their finances and their lives. They won’t need to feel anxious, worried, unproductive, or disconnected in their careers and personal lives.
Now, it’s up to employers to help their employees move toward financial well-being. To learn more about how MSA’s satisfaction-guaranteed financial well-being program can improve physical health and overall well-being across your population, schedule a demo or contact our sales team today.
About MSA
For more than 35 years, MSA has stood as a leader in the financial well-being industry. Through a three-pillar solution, we’ve transformed the lives of 1.3 million members and have helped organizations hit goals, improve profitability, and positively influence health outcomes.
Terminology
What is a financial well-being score?
Upon program entry, the employees, members, and callers are asked a series of questions to measure their financial well-being and stress as a baseline. This survey is retaken at specific intervals to measure how their stress levels decrease and how their confidence and well-being increase as they improve their finances.
What is a high-stress financial well-being score?
On a scale of 0-10, a score less than 5 indicates overwhelming financial stress and very low financial well-being.
What is a health score?
One of the questions included in MSA’s survey is, “How often are your finances having a negative influence on your overall health?” Employees answer on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “all the time” and 10 being “never.”
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¹ MSA’s 2022 Pulse Survey (MSA: Dec. 2022). Based on member data collected from Nov.-Dec. 2022
² Whitman, Amelia., et al. “Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Examples of Successful Evidence-Based Strategies and Current Federal Efforts.” ASPE, 1 Apr. 2022, https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/e2b650cd64cf84aae8ff0fae7474af82/SDOH-Evidence-Review.pdf
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