2024 Workplace Benefits Report finds financial
wellness gender gap widening and greater concern over
cost-of-living increases
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, 47% of American workers feel
financially well, up from 42% at this time last year. This is
according to Bank of America's 14th annual Workplace Benefits
Report, "The Resurging Workforce." Conducted in partnership
with Bank of America Institute, the report also found that 53% of
employees are concerned that economic uncertainty will affect their
long-term retirement savings, down from 63% in 2023.
Meanwhile, the gap in financial wellness between men and women
continues to grow, with 53% of men reporting good financial
wellness compared to 36% of women. In addition, employees expressed
concern about inflation, with 76% of workers saying that the cost
of living is outpacing growth in their salary or wages, compared to
67% in June 2023.
"Despite concerns about the cost of living and plans to limit
expenses, more employees are feeling confident about their
financial well-being," said Lorna
Sabbia, Head of Workplace Benefits at Bank of America.
"However, there is still work to be done to address gender equity,
as women continue to report much lower financial wellness scores
than men."
Based on nationwide surveys of nearly 1,000 employees and more
than 800 employers, the report analyzed employee financial
well-being and retirement preparedness, the state of the workplace,
benefits trends and more.
Key Insights:
- 6 in 10 workers are limiting current expenses. Many
employees say they are taking proactive steps to improve their
financial wellness, including limiting expenses (62%), paying down
debt (43%) and adding to emergency funds (41%).
- Job loyalty remains high. 70% of employees plan to
keep their jobs for the next year, with good work/life balance as
the top reason employees want to stay (66%). Of those who plan to
leave, compensation (52%) was the top reason for the switch,
followed by career growth (45%).
- Pay equity is becoming a powerful recruitment tool. Only
44% of employers currently address pay equity. However, those with
pay equity initiatives in place notice an impact, with 78%
reporting an improvement in attracting top talent vs. 50% without
such initiatives.
- There's a potential disconnect in retirement health care
expenses. Most Americans drastically underestimate the cost of
health care in retirement. Current research
[1] shows that a retired 65-year-old couple could
need more than $350,000 in savings to
cover their retirement health care expenses. However, according to
this new Bank of America report, only 7% of employees think their
yearly health expenses in retirement could total even $10,000.
Additional Findings:
- There's a divide between working caregivers and
employers. While most employers (81%) say they offer
support to caregivers, 61% of caregivers are not aware of available
support. This is significant, considering a little more than half
of the employees (52%) we surveyed identify as caregivers, and 49%
of caregivers are not comfortable self-identifying to their
employers.
- American workers are beginning to re-prioritize retirement
savings. The number of employees prioritizing
long-term retirement savings is slowly trending upwards (33% today,
up from 31% in 2023). This has become their top financial goal,
overtaking those focused on short-term financial needs last
year.
- Debt assistance is emerging as an attractive benefit.
Employers are starting to explore ways they can support employees
with debt, with 37% now offering student loan repayment
assistance.
- Wellness reimbursements are becoming a new benefit
trend. According to the data, 48% of employees want their
company to offer a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA), which can help
employees pay for a range of wellness expenses and encourage
healthy behaviors. Examples of qualified expenses may include gym
memberships, mediation classes and camping supplies. However, only
29% of employers currently offer an LSA.
More findings, including actionable steps for employers, are
available in the Bank of America 2024 Workplace Benefits
Report.
Workplace Benefits Report Methodology
Escalent
surveyed a national sample of 955 employees who are working
full-time and participate in 401(k) plans, and 804 employers who
offer both a 401(k) plan and have sole or shared responsibility for
decisions made in the plan. The survey was conducted between
November 22, 2023, and January 4, 2024. To qualify for the survey,
employees had to be current participants of a 401(k) plan and
employers had to offer a 401(k) plan option. Neither was required
to work with Bank of America. Bank of America was not identified as
the sponsor of the study.
About Bank of America Institute
Bank of America
Institute is dedicated to uncovering powerful insights that move
business and society forward. Established in 2022, the Institute is
a think tank that draws on data and analyses from across the bank
and the world to provide timely and original perspectives on the
economy, sustainability, and global transformation. The Institute
leverages the depth and breadth of the bank's proprietary data,
from approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients,
56 million verified digital users, $4.2
trillion in total payments in 2022 and $1.4 trillion in consumer and wealth management
deposits. From this robust data set, the Institute provides a
unique perspective on the health of the economy. It also elevates
thought leadership from throughout the bank that addresses
long-term trends and shares these findings with the general
public.
Bank of America
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world's leading financial institutions, serving individual
consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset
management and other financial and risk management products and
services. The company provides unmatched convenience in
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approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with
approximately 3,800 retail financial centers, approximately
15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and
award-winning digital banking with approximately 57 million
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wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading
across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations,
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MAP6629795
Reporters may contact:
Don Vecchiarello, Bank of
America
Phone: 1.980.387.4899
don.vecchiarello@bofa.com
1 Employee Benefits Research Institute, Issue Brief
no. 599, January 18, 2024.
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SOURCE Bank of America Corporation