With the release of the "State of Financial Wellbeing: US Workforce Report 2025," we wanted to provide you with a sneak peek into our research. Below, please find the executive summary.

To download the full report, please fill out the form. 

Executive summary

The State of Financial Wellbeing is an ongoing, international study of the financial wellbeing of the workforce.

Now spanning 8 independent studies and 4 years of data, the program aims to identify blockers and drivers of financial wellbeing — and recommendations for how employers can best support the financial wellbeing of their employees.

In our first North American study, we surveyed 5,000 employees and 513 employers across the United States to better understand their perspectives on financial wellbeing. Our findings are stark. Money worries are top of mind for most Americans, yet employers substantially underestimate the extent of this issue.

Money worries are constant

Our research finds that almost 1 in 5 (17.3%) American workers can’t stop thinking about their money. In fact, not far off half (43%) say that this causes them to struggle to sleep.

This is impacting both work and home lives, and as a result 1 in 4 (24%) have worse self-confidence and 1 in 5 (19%) have difficulty focusing at work.

Productivity is at risk here too, because financial stress affects available IQ by 10-13 points. This affects both cognitive capability and executive function, meaning people are worse at making decisions and have poor impulse control.

This is not just an issue for lower paid workers, either: nearly half (48%) of six-figure workers live paycheck to paycheck.

Financial wellbeing and productivity go hand-in-hand

It’s this effect on workplace focus and productivity that makes addressing financial wellbeing such a pressing issue for employers to tackle. Financial wellbeing programs are no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ and will increasingly be seen as a ‘must have’ that boosts productivity.

Yet, there’s a disconnect.

Employers feel they have already addressed this, but our research suggests the approaches many of them take aren’t hitting the mark. Most employers (76%) believe they currently provide an environment that is supportive of employees’ financial health, yet just 4 in 10 (39%) employees agree.

Identifying what matters

This disconnect means that employers are potentially investing in the wrong areas, and neither worker nor employer are reaping the returns.

We found that the benefits and support that employees say would most benefit their financial wellbeing are not top of the list for employers who are planning their benefits strategy.

Employers overindex on investing in financial education programs and underindex on providing the flexibility that truly boosts financial wellbeing–whether that’s flexible working patterns, flexible pay cycles, or even the flexibility to take a day off sick and still be paid.

Employer action plan

Although our findings suggest there is work to be done, the areas of opportunity are mainly around shifting focus and diverting energy (and budget) into programs that will make an impact.

At the end of this report we provide an employer action plan with a few simple ideas that could materially impact the ROI of your financial wellbeing program.

• Action 1: Communicate (and listen) relentlessly
• Action 2: Invest in finwell benefits that alleviate financial strain
• Action 3: Balance flexibility with stability