Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
“Financial wellness” is getting a lot of buzz these days — and for good reason. After all, today’s workforce is crippled by mounting student debt and other rising expenses. The resulting financial stress often damages an employee’s engagement, productivity and attendance. It’s no wonder then that companies are launching financial wellness programs to help their employees take control of their finances with tools to spend smarter, reduce debt and save more. If you’re one of those companies, then this guide is for you.
But where to begin? There is so much to consider here, from the different types and providers of financial wellness, to how to budget for such a program and measure ROI, to optimizing implementation and employee usage, and more. In this guide, we break it ALL down, so you can make the best decision for your employees — and, in turn, your bottom line.
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
Here are the best financial wellness programs that we've uncovered through expert interviews and hours of research.
Why we love it
:
Enrich is used by companies for creating personalized financial wellness programs for their employees. With it, you can educate your employees on their benefits, increase productivity, impart financial literacy, and measure their efficacy.
Enrich
Review:
Enrich is a highly-customizable financial wellness program designed to educate your employees on how to better meet their financial goals. Through articles, videos, infographics, and more, they can help your employees to increase their credit scores, increase 401k contributions, and decrease financial stress that takes away from employee satisfaction and productivity.
Enrich is from the same company as iGrad, a financial education program that partners with over 600 colleges to teach students how to better manage their finances.
Enrich
Customers:
Humana, Mutual of Omaha, Geico Credit Union
Humana, Mutual of Omaha, Geico Credit Union
Enrich
Pricing:
Best For
Why we love it
:
Unbiased, configurable, and holistic, LearnLux helps employees reach their financial goals. With LearnLux, employees get a financial advisor who guides them personally and helps them create a plan.
LearnLux
Review:
LearnLux helps employees increase their financial wellness through intuitive lessons and workflows designed to drive tangible results (decrease financial stress, increase IRA contributions, pay down debt, etc).
In addition to lessons and workflows, LearnLux comes with calculators to help employees figure out the ROI from changing their financial behavior. They also have certified financial planners that can be reached by chat or phone to answer questions.
One of the most important differentiators is that LearnLux makes money off the fee they charge companies - they are not getting affiliate fees for pushing certain financial products, nor are they backed by a major financial institution.
LearnLux
Customers:
LearnLux
Pricing:
LearnLux is priced on a per employee per month rate, with enterprise preferred-pricing available.
LearnLux is priced on a per employee per month rate, with enterprise preferred-pricing available.
Best For
LearnLux's financial wellbeing program was created for employees of all incomes in mind.
Why we love it
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InvestCloud Pink is an intuitive financial wellness solution that companies can offer their employees to help them achieve their financial goals and overall wellbeing. Pink uses gamification, behavioral science and educational tools to encourage individuals to be more actively engaged in their financial wellness journey.
InvestCloud
Review:
InvestCloud have created one of the most comprehensive tools we’ve seen in the employee financial wellness space with InvestCloud Pink. Through it, they’ve leveraged some of the tools used by some of the largest financial institutions and present them in an individualized form that your employees can use for their whole household.
Employees can keep track of all their account balances, assets, and insurance through a single tool and get personalized reports based on all this data. Should employees wish, the platform can also connect them to financial advisors who can provide even more detailed insights on the visual reports that InvestCloud Pink generates.
Pink has been designed to help businesses bridge the divide between individuals’ current financial status and their futures.
InvestCloud
Customers:
Across all Pink clients, there are over 110,000 enrolled users with some of the largest companies in the world leveraging InvestCloud’s unique approach to helping employees with their financial wellness.
Across all Pink clients, there are over 110,000 enrolled users with some of the largest companies in the world leveraging InvestCloud’s unique approach to helping employees with their financial wellness.
InvestCloud
Pricing:
InvestCloud Pink has a flexible economic model based on a minimum annual subscription (with an allotted number of active users), functionality utilized, and per-user pricing for additional users above the allotment. They strive to ensure the economic model fits any budget and work with organizations big and small.
InvestCloud Pink has a flexible economic model based on a minimum annual subscription (with an allotted number of active users), functionality utilized, and per-user pricing for additional users above the allotment. They strive to ensure the economic model fits any budget and work with organizations big and small.
Best For
InvestCloud Pink is a scalable solution, with current clients in SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise, and Fortune 500 organizations. Although their primary client base is in the US, due to their global presence they are able to support all jurisdictions. They are quick to adapt to a new customer base since their core product can be translated into all languages.
Why we love it
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Designed to help your employees with their financial goals, Gradifi comes with many compelling features such as financial wellness learning modules, interactive tools and calculators, and Gradifi student loan refinancing marketplace.
Gradifi
Review:
Gradifi enables companies to offer student loan repayment as a company perk. This is huge in an era with student debt nearing $2 Trillion in the United States alone. As part of E*TRADE, Gradifi helps companies large and small to enable their employees to pay down their student debt 25% faster. In addition to student loan repayment, Gradifi also offers financial wellness tools, resources, and college savings solutions for employees' families.
Gradifi
Customers:
Pricewaterhouse-Cooper, Carvana, Peloton, Mattel
Pricewaterhouse-Cooper, Carvana, Peloton, Mattel
Gradifi
Pricing:
Best For
Gradifi is best for larger companies.
Why we love it
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What makes Spring great is that it's packed with many useful features: customized financial education, simple budgeting tool, goal setting and tracking, progress reports and insight, financial wellness coaching, among others.
Spring
Review:
Formally known as Holberg Financial, Spring helps employees to get on the right financial footing through goal setting, financial educational materials that are bespoke to an individual, and 1:1 coaching. Whether you're saving for life events, or paying down debt, their offering can help meet your goals. In addition, they have some unique tools that let HR see employee engagement and progress with the tool.
Spring
Customers:
PerkSpot, Kipp, Teach For America
PerkSpot, Kipp, Teach For America
Spring
Pricing:
Spring has three pricing tiers:
Spring has three pricing tiers:
Best For
Spring has flexible pricing plans for companies of all sizes.
Why we love it
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Payactiv’s financial wellness platform allows employees to access up to 90% of their earned wages between paychecks. At no cost to the employer, the platform also provides features like 1:1 consultations with financial coaches, savings guidance, discounts, and expense tracking.
Payactiv
Review:
Payactiv is a financial wellness platform that allows you to access earned but not paid wages between paychecks. Using the Payactiv app, an all-in-one digital wallet, you can transfer your earned wages either directly to your bank account or the Payactiv Visa card - a reloadable prepaid card that can be used to pay bills and make purchases. On payday, the wages you withdrew will automatically be deducted from your paycheck.
Apart from this, Payactiv offers other services like a budgeting tool, an expense tracker, guidance on savings and spending, 1:1 financial coaching, and a savings calculator.
Payactiv
Customers:
Over 1500 companies use Payactiv including Uber, Pizzahut, Subway, Alorica, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Signature Healthcare.
Over 1500 companies use Payactiv including Uber, Pizzahut, Subway, Alorica, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Signature Healthcare.
Payactiv
Pricing:
Payactiv costs nothing to the employer. Employees can access their earned wages by ACH bank transfer, real-time transfer to a Payactiv Visa Card, or direct transfer to a bank account. Depending on the transfer mode, each transaction can cost the employee between $1 and $2.99.
Payactiv costs nothing to the employer. Employees can access their earned wages by ACH bank transfer, real-time transfer to a Payactiv Visa Card, or direct transfer to a bank account. Depending on the transfer mode, each transaction can cost the employee between $1 and $2.99.
Best For
Payactiv can be used by businesses of all sizes. It is especially beneficial for lower-income hourly workers who want to access their earned wages between paychecks.
Why we love it
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Apart from allowing employees to withdraw an advance of up to 50% of their paycheck before payday, Branch also provides additional financial wellness benefits like the ability to set up direct deposits, access your bank statements, and personalized saving plans.
Branch
Review:
Branch is an advance cash platform that allows employees to withdraw up to 50% of their earned wages before payday. Unlike traditional money lenders, Branch does not charge an interest fee. All transfers to the Branch debit card are instantaneous and free. Transfers to a connected bank account or debit card can take up to 3 days. However, those who wish to bypass the wait time can pay a flat fee for an instant deposit.
It’s important to note that you can use Branch if your employer has signed up for it, and before being able to withdraw an advance on your paycheck, you must have already received at least two consecutive months of pay through Branch.
Branch
Customers:
Uber, Henry Ford Health System, Domino’s, Kelly, and Continuum
Uber, Henry Ford Health System, Domino’s, Kelly, and Continuum
Branch
Pricing:
Branch does not disclose their pricing upfront. Employers can contact their sales team for a custom quote. Employees pay nothing for instant transfers to their Branch Debit Card. However, transfers to all other debit cards incur a fee of $3.99 for amounts under $75 and $4.99 for amounts greater than $75.
Branch does not disclose their pricing upfront. Employers can contact their sales team for a custom quote. Employees pay nothing for instant transfers to their Branch Debit Card. However, transfers to all other debit cards incur a fee of $3.99 for amounts under $75 and $4.99 for amounts greater than $75.
Best For
Branch can be offered as an employee benefit to full-time staff and independent contractors across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, logistics & trucking, franchise, and restaurants.
Why we love it
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A comprehensive education assistance benefits platform, Tuition.io is equipped with student loan management tools, student loan repayment assistance, tuition assistance, and more.
Tuition.io
Review:
Tuition.io helps companies empower their employees to pay down student debt. When offered as an employee perk, they see people increase student loan payments, which results in a 20% decrease in delinquent loans. They offer multiple products, such as student debt management tools, public service loan forgiveness tools, Student loan repayment assistance, and tuition assistance.
Tuition.io
Customers:
ADP, Ford, Hulu
ADP, Ford, Hulu
Tuition.io
Pricing:
Customers pay a monthly fee based on the products you decide to offer employees.
Customers pay a monthly fee based on the products you decide to offer employees.
Best For
Tuition.io is great for any company looking to help their employees pay back debt.
Why we love it
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CommonBond focuses on helping employees and their family with student loan debts. It's simple and customizable – employees choose from various options for paying their student debts and can make use of education finance tools for decision making.
CommonBond
Review:
Through CommonBond, companies can help their employees better pay for education. They will customize solutions for your oganization around paying down debt, refinancing, or saving for future educational opportunities.
CommonBond
Customers:
Michelin, Hilton, Humana
Michelin, Hilton, Humana
CommonBond
Pricing:
Best For
Why we love it
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Brightside is an all-encompassing financial care solution. It uses the best-in-class technology but has a human-centric core; there's a dedicated team of Financial Assistants that helps employees with anything ranging from retirement replanning to paying rents.
Brightside
Review:
Brightside offers a holistic, mobile-first financial care platform that empowers employees to live happier, more productive lives by tackling the financial challenges they face on a daily basis. Their service connects your employees 1:1 with an expert financial assistant who listens to their unique challenges and needs to then help them navigate the best options available to them.
Whether those are existing employer benefits, Brightside solutions, partner solutions, or community resources, Brightside’s financial assistants are never paid on commission and any kickbacks they receive from their partners are passed along to the employee as part of Brightside’s KickForward™ program. Solutions on their platform include early access to paycheck, payroll linked-loans, auto savings accounts, debt consolidation, budgeting, and plenty more.
Brightside
Customers:
Brightside
Pricing:
Best For
Any company looking to improve its employees financial wellness.
There’s a growing need among today’s employees — including recent grads and their still-working parents — to improve their overall financial health. Just look at these results from PwC’s 2019 Employee Financial Wellness Survey:
So what does this all mean? For starters, if you don’t have a financial wellness program yet, you should get one going ASAP. When you can help your employees overcome their #1 stressor, they’ll be happier and more focused at the office. This means increased productivity, higher retention and more recruiting leverage. A win-win-win.
However, financial wellness can mean a lot of things — it all depends on the needs of your particular workforce. Laurie Strazzullo, director of strategic partnerships at Gradifi and financial wellness expert, recommends companies think about these three factors: 1) goals, 2) needs, and 3) budget. “Companies need to first understand what they’re trying to achieve with a financial wellness benefit,” she said. “Is there a specific problem that employers are facing with their finances? Understanding this will help them decide if they need a robust, interactive tool that offers a host of financial benefits, or something more simple.” Budgets play a key role in this decision, too — but more on that in the pricing section below.
To help you figure out what type of financial wellness benefit would be right for your company, here is a list of the common use-cases and what they entail:
Some providers offer a multitude of these solutions, while others focus on just one. The solution you choose will depend on your employee’s needs.
As with any new tool or program, you’re likely to run into a hurdle or two — either during the search/demo process or once you’ve launched internally. The following tips (inspired by common considerations and mistakes employers face with regards to financial wellness) will help you avoid these hurdles so you can more efficiently launch your benefit:
Offering a financial wellness benefit will go a long way in helping your company grow. You can more easily grow your headcount. Your employees’ productivity will increase. And, in turn, your company will reach its goals faster.
Here are a few key benefits you could reap with a financial wellness program:
Because financial wellness is still an emerging space in HR, the success metrics aren’t so black and white. Not to mention, success can look different from one company to the next. In thinking about how to measure ROI, talk to your vendor of choice about the metrics they use — or consult their customer success team (if they have one, that is) to help you understand what success looks like for your company, plus how to measure it.
In the meantime, check out our ROI calculator which breaks down the value of things like increased productivity.
Pricing varies. Some vendors offer a flat per-employee-per-month fee, some charge implementation or integration fees, some make money by cross-selling various financial products like debt-refi. Some solutions can be free while others charge as much as $20 per-employee-per-month. Be sure to talk about pricing during your demo.
If you’re concerned about pricing because your budget for this is small or nonexistent, there are some creative ways to make it work. The first is to find a solution that’s low-cost. Or, you could shift budget dollars. Survey your employees to see which benefits they care least about or look at usage data to see which ones are under-utilized. For example, if only 1 or 2% of your workforce is using an existing tuition reimbursement plan, shift those budgeted dollars to financial wellness.
At the end of each year, instead of reimbursing employees for their accrued and unused PTO, give them the option to put those dollars towards their student loans, for example.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: if budget issues are stopping you from creating a financial wellness program, you can — and should — find a way to make it work.
As we mentioned previously, your financial wellness program should be designed with your specific workforce in mind. In other words, what do your employees need to improve their overall financial health?
In addition to the use-cases we outlined above, there are other features you can expect from a financial wellness provider. Let’s take a look:
Before investing in any tool, make sure to book demos so you can actually see how everything works. And be prepared to lead each demo so that you come away fully understanding which tool will benefit your company the most.
How to get to this decision depends on the questions you ask during the demo. To get you started, we compiled the following lists of general questions to ask on any demo as well as those more specific to financial wellness.
General questions:
Financial Wellness questions:
In most cases, implementing a financial wellness benefit is pretty low-tech, meaning you shouldn’t have to enlist your entire IT team or organize a cross-functional implementation team. That said, you should still go over the implementation process in detail during your demos. That way, you will know exactly what is required of you to get up and running. Here are two other implementation recommendations to consider:
Financial wellness is a measurement of money security, including emergency savings, investments, salary, and more.
Financial wellness software are solutions designed to ensure employees are on the right track to positive financial health, using educational tools and personal assistance.
By providing financial wellness services, you’ll see heightened retention and engagement, increased productivity and improved bottom line, and higher candidate interest. Employees get the benefits of early income access, home financing, budgeting practices, college savings, and mitigation of credit card debt.
Financial wellness programs offer features such as home financing, student loan and credit card debt planning, retirement saving, budgeting education, early income access, and educational tools.
If financial wellness isn’t a top priority for your company this year, figure out a way to make it one. Money matters are stressing out your employees and negatively impacting their work. To help them get back on track, pay attention to what, exactly, is most important to them. Is it student loan repayment? The ability for workers to get their paychecks faster? Education in general? Retirement options? All of the above?
20-30 years ago, people were retiring at 55 and 60. Today, a lot of people are working into their 60s and 70s because they’re stacked with debt — either because they didn’t plan accordingly or because of things like their mortgages and their kids’ tuitions.
This debt can be debilitating for your employees and, in turn, your company. So ask yourself: do you want to just check a box that you offer a financial wellness benefit, or do you want something that goes beyond open enrollment? Chances are, you’ll want something that will keep employees engaged and actually help them out of the hardships they’re facing.
Whatever the case may be, focus on the areas most important to your company and develop a holistic long-term strategy around them.
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