Gender, age contribute to financial wellness gap

The pandemic has had a greater impact on the employment of women than men, and it also is affecting their overall financial well-being. As a result, men are nearly twice as likely to be confident or very confident about their financial health.

Origin, a financial wellness platform, recently surveyed 1,000 full-time U.S. employees about financial behaviors and stressors. The survey also found that women are:

• 10% more likely than men to say their financial health is the same or worse than last year;
• Less likely to put income away to build wealth, indicating that gender gaps in financial wellness go far beyond the paycheck;
• Less likely to put disposable income in savings accounts, retirement accounts, cryptocurrency or brokerage or investment accounts; and
• Less likely to have ever consulted a financial planner.

“Every person deserves financial literacy and well-being, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, and this data reinforce that expanding access to financial advice can directly improve financial confidence and help shrink these wealth gaps,” said Matt Watson, CEO and co-founder of Origin. “By offering financial planning services as part of their benefits package, employers have a unique opportunity to not only differentiate themselves from other companies in a hot talent market but to also do their part to mitigate the gender wealth gap, retirement crisis and overall financial stress within their teams, playing a vital role in reshaping the financial future for Americans.”

Gender is not the only factor affecting financial security, Only 37% of respondents over age 45 said they are confident or very confident in their financial health, compared with more than half of those aged 22 to 45. Despite being closer to retirement, two-thirds of those over 45 had never consulted a financial planner or had done so only once or twice ever in their lives.

Overall, a majority of employees don’t know where to turn for financial advice. More than 67% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they want to make more-informed investments but don’t know how, and another 18% at least somewhat agree. More than nine in 10 employees want their employers to offer increased access to financial planning and advisory services, but only 28% of employers currently are providing it.

“Employees have hit their breaking point when it comes to financial stress, and they’re looking to their employers for support,” said David Blaylock, lead financial planner for Origin. “So now is the time for companies to decide: are we going to support our workforce in a meaningful way? Or are we going to turn a blind eye to their situations?”