Bank of America has officially published the results from its 2025 Workplace Benefits Report (PDF), which was conducted in partnership with Bank of America Institute.
Going by the available details, this particular report reveals that 26% of the workforce is currently seeking help in areas such as emergency savings, paying down debt, and overall financial wellness, compared to 13% in 2023. These employees also need financial wellness resources in the context of retirement education and planning (36%), learning how to generate income in retirement (33%), as well as developing good financial skills and habits (33%).
More on the same would reveal how nearly 7 in 10 employees (68%) remain optimistic about their financial future over the next three years, but having said so, many are still seeking advice around both long-term savings and managing their personal finances today.
Next up, BofA’s survey discovered that more than 8 in 10 employers deem financial wellness resources to drive job satisfaction, productivity, the ability to attract top talent, and get recommended as a great place to work. Despite there being such a clear demand, though, no more than half of larger employers (54%) offer financial wellness programs, with the smaller companies settling at an even lower 32%.
“The modern employee wants help with their broader financial goals,” said Lorna Sabbia, Head of Workplace Benefits at Bank of America. “Employers should consider additional resources to support their workforce in ways that bolster their long-term goals while also helping them tackle short-term challenges.”
Moving on, this particular survey also discovered that workplace benefits are increasingly a factor in retaining talent. We say so because nearly a quarter (24%) of employees say they recently left or have considered leaving their company because their workplace benefits are lacking, up from 15% in 2023.
Markedly enough, growing savings for unexpected expenses was found to be employees’ second-most important financial goal, placed right after saving for retirement. Still, half of employees (53%) have not hit their emergency savings goal (62% of women compared to 44% of men).
As for the reason behind that, it was found to be the fact that they’re living paycheck-to-paycheck among the primary reasons.
Nearly half of employees (45%) also said they lack emergency savings due to a focus on repaying debt. This comes after 85% of employees were found to carry some form of personal debt, including 58% alone carrying credit card debt.
Many employees even say that it causes them stress, as well as a loss of focus and productivity at work. Despite the clear ripple effects, fewer than 1 in 3 companies offer credit counseling or debt assistance aside from student loans.
Hold on, we still have a couple of bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon how 1 in 3 employees (67%) feel confident that they’re on track for their preferred retirement lifestyle, but at the same time, confidence seemingly varies by gender and life stage.
Unpacking it further, 59% of women feel on track toward their retirement goals compared to 72% of men. From a more general standpoint, half of employees (49%) wish they started saving for retirement at a younger age.
We also haven’t touched upon 60% of employers deeming an equity award to be the differentiating factor when attracting and retaining talent. You see, almost half of all surveyed employees (48%) shared a preference for adding stock awards over the next few years.
Out of employers who offer equity awards today, 66% say the number of employees receiving them has increased over the last three years.
Among other things, it ought to be acknowledged that the given survey, conducted by Escalent, took, into account the opinion of more than 962 employees who are working full-time and participate in 401(k) plans, and 800 employers who offer both a 401(k) plan.
“Some companies are evolving their financial benefits to keep up with the needs of their employees, while others remain focused on traditional benefits alone – such as retirement plans and health insurance,” said Kai Walker, Head of Retirement Research and Insights at Bank of America. “Financial wellness programs, equity awards, debt assistance, caregiver support can all help attract and retain top talent.”
