Nearly half of American workers reported having “a lot” of stress during the Covid-19 crisis and more than half said they are concerned about the value of their retirement savings or other investment accounts, according to a survey by Edelman Financial Engines.
Moreover, many people with high financial stress indicated the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on their work, including decreased productivity, loss of focus and anxiety or tension in the workplace. And 37% of the survey respondents believe they would benefit from receiving financial advice during these uncertain times.
The survey of 1,077 American workers was conducted the week of April 6. It focused on their financial stress, economic concerns and use of financial advice. The survey revealed that nearly half of those surveyed reported relatively weak financial well-being across three different measures: level of financial stress, outlook, and ability to handle a mid-size financial shock.
Nearly half (46%) of the respondents said they are “extremely” or “moderately” concerned about the stability of their household income. Among these workers, 85% are concerned about their own job, while 46% are concerned about their spouse’s income.
The survey also revealed that 52% of workers are “moderately” or “extremely” concerned about the value of their retirement savings or other investment accounts; the resilience of their employers (41%); and their health-care costs (41%).
Kelly O’Donnell, executive vice president and head of workplace business at Edelman Financial Engines, said they are seeing high levels of financial stress among employees and it is impacting many aspects of their lives. “Companies that give workers better access to financial advice can help alleviate their employees’ financial stress, leading to increased productivity, lower turnover and reduced absenteeism,” she said in a press statement.
When it comes to emergency funds, the survey showed that respondents had little or none. Only 44% workers said they would be able to easily come up with $2,000 within 30 days for an emergency, while 11% would not be able to raise any emergency funds at all and 30% would need to make sacrifices. In addition, 14% indicated they would have to do something drastic to raise the money.
Furthermore, 10% of respondents exhausted their emergency savings within the first month of the crisis, and one in three reported taking adverse financial actions such as depleting their emergency savings or stopping contributions to their retirement accounts. Millennials, they survey found, were most likely to take such financial actions.
The survey pointed out that workers with emergency savings accounts may be less likely to seek a loan or pre-retirement withdrawal from their plan, improving their retirement security prospects and helping the plan retain assets. It suggests employers can help workers to save for a rainy day by enabling emergency savings. It also suggests that employers can help to improve their employees’ financial well-being by providing access to independent financial planners, expanding automatic features in their 401(k) plan, and offer financial advice and coaching as a retirement or employee benefit.