eMoney believes the impact of Covid-19 has given financial professionals an opportunity to implement financial wellness programs.
As in many previous studies, the financial planning fintech found high levels of financial stress in its own survey of 2,000 Americans. More than two-thirds of its respondents reported feeling stress due to financial health problems, versus about half of respondents feeling stress due to either physical or mental health problems.
This stress is directly pandemic related in most cases, as 62% of respondents reported that the pandemic has worsened their financial situations.
As a result of this stress, the respondents were more likely to adopt a short-term financial focus on issues like paying day-to-day bills versus planning for retirement or saving for other long-term goals.
To that end, eMoney earlier this year launched Incentive, a self-led financial planning and wellness application. It also, in conjunction with the release of its study, announced a new partnership with FinLit Tech founder and financial literacy advocate Mac Gardner.
“Mac’s expertise and passion for financial literacy are welcome additions to the team,” said Celeste Revelli, director of financial planning at eMoney, in released comments. “As our survey results indicate, there’s a dire need for financial wellness in this country. ... eMoney's vision of ‘financial peace of mind for all’ has been our North Star as we work to address the needs of people across the wealth spectrum.”
Gardner will serve as both a consultant and brand ambassador for eMoney, emphasizing the importance of financial wellness to the overall industry.
While financial stress led the eMoney study respondents to seek financial advice, a greater proportion of them have sought advice from friends and family (47%) or their employer (42%) than have consulted a financial professional (28%).
Yet, the same respondents indicated that their largest impediment to achieving financial wellbeing is an inability to get or find reliable, sound financial advice. The respondents were also most likely to define financial wellness as financial security as a result of sufficient income and manageable expenses.
eMoney said it interpreted the results as a clear call for workplace financial wellness programs.