How Financial Stress Is Driving Benefits Choices
“What does the price of eggs have to do with annual enrollment?” Mercer asked that question recently, and the answer is: more than you might think. With 70% of employees considered not financially healthy, many of your employees are currently struggling with the cost of housing, groceries, and everyday essentials. As open enrollment season approaches, […]
The Healthcare Cost Crisis is Growing – But Employers Aren’t Powerless
U.S. employers started this year expecting their healthcare costs to jump 8% — the highest increase in more than a decade, according to the Business Group on Health (BGH). Unfortunately, that expectation became reality. Even more concerning, BGH’s president and CEO said they don’t “anticipate trend abatement for 2026.” It’s no wonder that WTW’s 2025 […]
Health Equity and Financial Health: The Link Employers Can’t Ignore
Many employers have made bold commitments to health equity in recent years, investing in mental health, addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), and building more inclusive benefits packages. In fact, Brown & Brown estimates that 95% of employers have adopted at least one strategy to improve health equity among diverse employee populations. Yet one key […]
Why Student Loan Support Can’t Wait — And How Brightside Makes It Count
For years, student loans were paused. Conversations around them went quiet. But now that repayments resumed — and student loan collections have restarted — the financial impact of student loans is hitting employees and their employers hard. Not only have shifting policies left more than 43 million Americans who owe over $1.6 trillion in student […]
Why Financial Care is Critical to 401(k) Savings Success
In 2022, Americans’ financial health declined for the first time in five years. Between 2023 and 2024, several key financial health indicators got even worse. Today, 70% of Americans are considered financially unhealthy and seven out of 10 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Despite that the 2024 Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) Survey revealed […]
Tight Employee Benefit Budget? Prioritize Comprehensive Financial Support
Many benefits leaders are sharing the same reality right now: employee benefit budgets are tightening, economic uncertainty is high, and there’s organizational pressure to demonstrate clear, measurable ROI from every dollar spent. That’s why it’s critical to address one of the biggest drivers of poor outcomes across the board: financial illness. It causes employees to […]
9 Ways to Measure if Your Employees’ Financial Health is Improving
Employee financial health isn’t just about individual wellbeing—it’s directly tied to productivity, retention, healthcare costs, and workplace safety. Despite the rise in employee financial benefit options, many HR leaders struggle to determine if their efforts to improve employee financial health are working. Here are nine metrics HR leaders can monitor to gauge whether financial wellbeing […]
Is Your Employee Hardship Fund Worth the Headache?
Hardship funds are built with good intentions, but they often provide too little relief for the financially struggling while adding too much administrative burden for employers. Read on to explore the hard truth behind hardship funds, and how Brightside Financial Care changes that with an innovative approach that delivers meaningful impact for employees and employers. […]
Will a Benefit Really Alleviate Employees’ Financial Struggles? 7 Key Questions to Ask
More employers accept that employee financial stress isn’t an individual employee issue – it’s a business problem that drives higher turnover, absenteeism, and healthcare costs. Despite the sheer volume of traditional financial wellness and point solutions on the market, finding those that will address the needs of the 70% of employees who are not financially […]
Why Helping Frontline Employees Navigate Tax Season Matters
Tax season can provide a financial lifeline to lower-income employees who qualify for valuable tax credits that may lead to a tax refund – but the IRS reports that 1 in 5 miss out on thousands of dollars each year. Employers that think beyond traditional financial wellness approaches and provide comprehensive financial benefits that include […]