on, among those lower- and middle-income workers, more are likely to say that they wish their employer did more to help them set financial priorities. (Photo: Shutterstock)
If you're making more money, you're more likely to feel financially secure as a result of their benefits from work—but that's not the case for lower-income workers.
According to the MassMutual Workplace Benefits Study, among middle-income workers, 58 percent say they feel more secure because of those workplace benefits—but that leaves an awful lot of workers who don't feel any better. In fact, considering the salary range of workers polled for the study—with annual household incomes of between $35,000 and $150,000—there's a pretty clear dividing line.
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Among upper-middle-income Americans or those with annual household incomes of $75,000 to $150,000, 65 percent identify their employee benefits as a source of greater financial security. But among those with incomes less than $45,000, only 42 percent feel the same way. And, unsurprisingly, those who do not feel as financially secure are less likely to have access to benefits such as a 401(k) or other retirement savings plan, or life, disability, accident or dental insurance.
In addition, among those lower- and middle-income workers, more are likely to say that they wish their employer did more to help them set financial priorities than among upper-middle-income workers. And maybe it's because they don't know enough about their benefits to get the most out of them.
"MassMutual's study indicates that there may be a knowledge gap in the understanding and use of employee benefits among certain employee populations," Jon Shuman, leader of MassMutual's Voluntary Benefits unit, is quoted saying.
The study finds that only one out of four employees is offered financial education at work—but responses indicate that as many as half would be happy to have more help or guidance on personal finances from their employer. In addition, 51 percent indicated that they wanted their employer to provide more education about saving for retirement.
But when it comes to millennials, they're way more ready to accept help at work on finances, with 70 percent saying they'd appreciate financial planning services and 60 percent indicating interest in budgeting assistance.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
