Preventative financial wellbeing
The next preventative health priority at work: financial wellbeing
Five years ago, Sam was struggling quietly. As the main income provider for a growing family, costs were rising. When credit card bills went unpaid, he told no one. He felt too ashamed to talk to his partner, and he didn’t think his employer could help. He lost sleep and found it harder to concentrate at work. He stopped his pension contributions to put more towards his debt, but it wasn’t enough. So, despite enjoying his job, Sam handed in his notice for a higher-paying role. It was only in his exit interview that he shared with his manager what he had been going through.
At the same company today, Noor faces many of the same pressures. Household costs are high, and an unexpected expense knocks her off course. This time, Noor knows there are trained colleagues that she can talk to. She is signposted to the wellbeing page on the company’s intranet, where she finds a webinar recording and free, relevant support. The situation doesn’t disappear overnight, but now she has a plan. Noor grows in confidence, feels supported by her employer, and becomes even more committed to her role.
That difference matters.
Employers have learned that waiting for a crisis is costly, and are increasingly investing in a preventative approach to wellbeing: moving from ‘support when things go wrong’ to support that reduces the likelihood of things going wrong in the first place.
We have already seen this shift in physical health, with benefits such as health screenings, early musculoskeletal support, flu vaccinations and lifestyle programmes. And mirroring this shift in mental health, employers have introduced initiatives such as mental health first aiders, manager training and mindfulness awareness.
Financial wellbeing is now following the same preventative path.
Traditional financial wellbeing benefits include the workplace pension and debt advice via an EAP. These benefits play an important role, but they are not inherently preventative: pensions address long-term retirement affordability, while EAP debt advice is often underutilised until crisis point.
We now recognise that financial wellbeing extends far beyond retirement and debt — covering day-to-day money management, confidence to make financial decisions, and resilience to absorb financial shocks when life throws a curveball.
This shift is reflected in employer priorities. According to REBA’s Financial Wellbeing Research 2025, nearly nine in ten employers (88%) plan to address financial resilience within their financial wellbeing strategies over the next two years.
Us providers are good at aligning our products and services with the latest wellbeing terminology, but we need to be working with employers to understand what they are really looking for from a preventative financial wellbeing solution.
Employers have told us that a preventative approach should:
Build financial confidence and resilience early
Improve financial education and literacy
Normalise conversations about money at work
Help spot early warning signs of financial stress
Provide timely, appropriate signposting to support
Regulators and providers are moving in the same direction. We’re seeing a growing range of products and interventions designed to support people earlier and more practically: from payroll savings schemes that help build short-term resilience, to more affordable workplace loans that reduce reliance on high-cost credit. Alongside this, financial wellbeing training and education have gained real momentum, from targeted financial education for apprentices and early-career employees to leveraging awareness days and campaigns throughout the year to de-stigmatised financial challenges. Organisations are equipping their people with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions at key transition points, and giving colleagues the confidence to talk about money and offer appropriate support.
Human by design
For preventative financial wellbeing solutions to be truly effective, they must be people-led and human by design. REBA’s research highlights several persistent challenges that employers continue to face: employees often don’t know where to start when seeking financial help, support is underused when it feels stigmatised, impersonal or disconnected from day-to-day working life, and managers and HR teams want to help but worry about crossing boundaries or saying the wrong thing.
These are not problems that technology, platforms or tools alone can solve. Preventative approaches work best when they enable trusted, human conversations - helping people feel safe to speak up early and confident to respond appropriately.
It’s no surprise, then, that REBA has seen a 257% increase in employers planning to train people to initiate financial wellbeing conversations, recognising that early intervention depends as much on people as it does on products.
Measuring the success of a preventative approach
A familiar challenge that organisations face is measuring the impact of their wellbeing solutions. When the aim is to stop crises from happening, traditional outcome-based metrics fall short. If fewer people reach breaking point, there may be no obvious event to count. Instead, effectiveness needs to be understood through reduced risk and increased resilience: fewer employees reporting high financial anxiety, greater confidence in managing money, and clearer awareness of where to turn for support.
But, financial challenges will still happen.
Whether it’s a partner losing their job, an unexpected eviction, becoming an unpaid carer for a loved one, expensive repairs or medical bills, another pandemic (the list goes on)… financial stress will find us at some point.
So, another critical measure to look for is earlier help-seeking behaviour. Preventative programmes are working when employees feel able to ask for support as soon as an event occurs and before financial pressure escalates into absence, attrition or disciplinary processes. Increased engagement with support resources, greater confidence among managers to have appropriate conversations, and reduced stigma around money are all meaningful signals of impact. They show that support is becoming embedded in day-to-day culture and accessed proactively when needed.
You can see how Money First Aid is measuring our impact in our latest Impact Report here.
Money First Aiders increase the effectiveness of a preventative financial wellbeing strategy.
A Money First Aider®:
is equipped with the knowledge and skills to support someone who is experiencing financial issues
will know how to spot the signs of financial distress
has an understanding of common financial challenges and how they impact someone’s life
will be someone to talk to and listen for those facing a financial challenge
can signpost someone to appropriate, professional support when required
champions the workplace benefits already in place
They address many of the challenges employers face when it comes to financial wellbeing:
If employers are unsure where to start with their solution, Money First Aiders provide that feedback loop of what employees really need and what support they would value
They are a familiar, easy and accessible go-to for support in day-to-day working life
Understandably, there’s a fear of saying the wrong thing and giving money advice, so our Money First Aiders are trained on clear boundaries of the role, so these fears don’t stop a conversation before it’s started
Existing support or benefits may go unused, because of lack of awareness or because it feels impersonal, stigmatised or disconnected from real-life experience. Just like we speak to friends before going to the doctor, when someone’s worrying about their next bill, they might want to talk it out before engaging the professionals. Or, it might take a Money First Aider sharing a benefit they didn’t know exists.
Another key strength of Money First Aiders is that they are embedded within the workforce and organisational culture, creating an empowered network of employees who are part of the prevention solution, not a separate intervention. This further strengthens employees sense of belonging and level of care peers have for each other.
First Bus won Best Benefits Strategy / Innovation of the Year Award for their introduction of Money First Aiders last year.
“We realised that money worries weren’t just financial issues — they were early warning signs. By training Money First Aiders, we’ve given our people the skills to spot concerns early, have compassionate conversations and signpost support before problems escalate.” - Muntazir Hadadi, Head of Pensions
"We have a robust financial wellbeing suite, but it relies on individuals knowing about it and diagnosing their own needs. Money First Aid helps bridge that gap. The peer-to-peer aspect is transformative because it breaks down the stigma of talking about money. By having open conversations, we create a culture where seeking financial guidance is normalised.” - Gareth Hind, Director of Colleague Experience and Relations
Preventative financial wellbeing is not about eliminating financial stress - that’s neither realistic nor within an employer’s control. It is about reducing risk, building resilience, and ensuring people are supported early, consistently and appropriately when challenges arise. As financial pressure continues to shape employee wellbeing, the organisations that make the greatest difference will be those that invest not only in products, but in people: so confident and compassionate money conversations happen earlier, support is human by design, and crises are far less likely to take hold.
Get in touch to speak to us about developing your preventative financial wellbeing strategy.
