Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of a workplace financial education program on financial behaviors.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the financial behaviors of employees who participated in the workplace financial education program to those who did not. Using data from a pretest and posttest, the authors conducted statistical analyses to examine differences between the groups.
- The study found a significant relationship between program participation and fewer negative financial behaviors, a higher likelihood of budgeting, and a higher likelihood to review asset allocation strategies and increase retirement contributions.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the workplace financial education program; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Workplace Financial Education
Features of the Intervention
Employees at a publishing firm voluntarily participated in a needs assessment to determine financial topics of interest, which guided the development of a yearlong financial education program. The company provided financial workshops onsite and virtually, during work hours and after hours. The workshops were administered by a financial education provider and included courses on basic financial management and retirement/investment strategies. The courses included Money Basics (6 hours, typically four 90-minute sessions), The Magic of 401(k) (2 hours), and Retiring Easy (3 hours), and additional courses on reducing debt, improving credit, building savings, and avoiding fraud (10 courses that were 60 minutes each). Each participant also received a Financial Wellness Score and action plan based on a pretest. Employees were given Wellness Points as an incentive to participate, which counted towards an insurance premium discount.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of workplace financial education program participants to non-participants. The study sample included 995 employees who completed the pretest and posttest, with 339 program participants and 656 non-participants. The program participants had to complete at least one of the program offerings. Pretest data were collected in April and May 2010 and posttest data were collected 12-18 months after the courses ended in April through August of 2011. The authors used statistical tests and models to test differences between the groups on financial behaviors. The outcomes included financial wellness and savings ratio, frequency of negative financial behaviors, starting or updating a budget, increasing retirement contributions, obtaining or updating life insurance plans, reviewing asset allocation strategy, and obtaining or updating estate planning documents.
Findings
Knowledge and skills for money management
- The study found a statistically significant relationship between participation in the workplace financial education program and fewer negative financial behaviors.
- The study also found a statistically significant relationship between participation in the workplace financial education program and a higher likelihood of starting or updating a budget (1.8 times more likely).
Knowledge and skills for financial decision making
- The study found a statistically significant relationship between participation in the workplace financial education program and a higher likelihood of reviewing asset allocation strategies (twice as likely) and increasing retirement contributions (1.6 times more likely)
- However, the study did not find a statistically significant relationship between program participation and the odds of obtaining and updating life insurance or estate planning documents.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors did not account for preexisting differences between the groups before program participation, specifically in their baseline composition by race/ethnicity as required by the protocol. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the workplace financial education program; other factors are likely to have contributed.