529 Plans Have Evolved. Most Financial Wellness Strategies Haven’t.   By Kevin George For many HR leaders, 529 plans are still viewed primarily as a long-term college savings tool designed for employees with young children. That perception is outdated.  529 plans are much more flexible, and relevant to a broader group than HR leaders always realize. Our employees are navigating through a more complex landscape than seen in the past, including rising living costs, student loan...

Introducing a Financial Wellness Benefit — A Practical Roadmap  By Chelsea Elledge Selecting the right financial wellness partner is only the first step. The real determinant of success is how the program is introduced, communicated, and integrated into the broader benefits ecosystem.  Begin with leadership alignment.  When leaders actively champion a benefits program, it signals that employee well-being is a genuine organizational priority. Leadership should understand the...

Measure What Matters — Outcomes, Not Activity  In many organizations, the success of a new benefit is celebrated when enrollment targets are hit. Participation dashboards light up. Awareness campaigns show strong open rates. But enrollment is not the same as impact. If financial wellness initiatives are to be taken seriously at the executive level, they must demonstrate measurable change in both employee outcomes and business performance.  At the employee level, this means tracking...

Build the Exit Ramp — Responsible Credit Access  By Asesh Sarkar We often begin financial wellness conversations with education: budgeting tools, savings nudges, financial literacy workshops. These are important. But they are insufficient if an employee is simultaneously paying 160%, 300%, or even 600% APR in the shadow lending market.  The difference between mainstream and high-cost credit is life-changing. For employees with strong credit profiles, borrowing $1,000 over twelve...

Diagnose the K-Shaped Workforce By Asesh Sarkar In boardrooms and HR strategy sessions, we often talk about talent in aggregate terms. Engagement scores. Retention rates. Benefits utilization. But beneath these averages sits a structural divide that many organizations have yet to fully confront. Financial health in 2026 is increasingly K-shaped. On one trajectory are employees with access to affordable credit, manageable debt, emergency savings, and the capacity to invest in their...

Financial Wellness Starts With Understanding Employees’ Reality By Daniel Shakhani Most financial wellness programmes are built with good intentions. Leaders genuinely want to support their people and help them build a secure future. But too often, these programmes assume something that isn’t always true: that employees are financially stable enough to use them. January is Financial Wellness Month — a moment for organisations to reflect not just on what benefits they offer, but on whether...

Employer-Distributed Loans: A Smarter Alternative to 401(k) Borrowing By David Kilby, FinFit CEO Employer-Distributed Loans: A Smarter Alternative to 401(k) Borrowing For millions of American workers, unexpected expenses don’t wait for payday. When cash is tight, many turn to their 401(k) plans for relief, but borrowing from retirement savings can quietly derail long-term financial health. Employers now have a better option: low-friction, employer-distributed FinFit loans 1 that provide...

Rising Healthcare Costs Are Driving Employee Financial Stress By Kevin George, Head of Human Resources at FinFit Over my 10+ years in HR, I’ve seen benefit costs rise steadily, but what we’re experiencing today feels fundamentally different. For perspective, while looking for health insurance renewals for 2026 this year, our broker informed me that the average increase for their clients was between 18% and 22%. Additionally, when speaking with another broker, they reported increases of...

How Emergency Savings Accounts Can Boost Employee Wellbeing and Your Bottom Line  Financial stress is a top challenge for employees and businesses alike. With 74% of workers living paycheck to paycheck and financial stress costing U.S. businesses $500 billion annually, the need for effective financial wellness solutions is clear.  Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs) are more than just a financial buffer, they are a critical component of a healthy financial life. Bankrate reports 59 % of U.S....

Transforming Employee Wellbeing: Quest Diagnostics’ Approach to Financial Wellness At FinFit, we are proud to spotlight our impactful partnership with Quest Diagnostics, a global leader in diagnostic information services. Together, we have taken a significant step toward addressing the financial stress plaguing healthcare professionals—a workforce critical to our communities’ wellbeing. Healthcare workers face unique financial challenges, with 68% reporting stress related to personal...