Long-Term Use of Financial Wellness Programs Drives Retirement Success: Study

"Employers have spent millions of dollars trying to address this problem, through incentivizing employees to save by matching their retirement plan contributions, automatically enrolling employees into their retirement plans, and providing employees target date fund and professionally managed accounts designed to invest their assets in line with their retirement goals."

Davidson said each innovation has been touted as the solution to the problem — and these have had an effect — but getting American workers to save enough to retire comfortably has more challenging than originally expected.

Financial Finesse noted that in a recent survey conducted by Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald & Associates, 70% of American workers said debt was negatively affecting their ability to save for retirement. And 55% of workers said they were unable to save for retirement and save for other financial goals at the same time.

"Even the best retirement plans can't compensate for an employee who simply is unable to save sufficiently due to high levels of student loan debt, rising health care expenses, and a society that places a premium on 'living your best life' with experiences that are largely out of reach for most Americans," the study's co-author Greg Ward, director of the Financial Wellness Think Tank, said in the statement.

"The reality is that most employees need financial coaching to overcome these obstacles."

Davidson noted that financial wellness programs are rapidly expanding, with more than 300 firms putting themselves forward as providers. These programs are a fast-growing employee benefit, and many employers consider them an imperative from a social mission perspective.

Financial Finesse pointed to a recent survey conducted from Alight Solutions in which 82% of employers cited believed that offering a financial wellbeing program was "the right thing to do." And a MetLife study on employee benefit trends found that 53% of employees said their employers had a responsibility for their financial wellbeing.

"Companies that ignore this issue put themselves at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent," Davidson said.