Americans' sense of well-being remains low, particularly when it comes to finances, according to a report released Tuesday by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. This underscores the urgent need for additional well-being support and resources, especially around retirement planning and personal finance stressors, Guardian said.
Only a third of Americans surveyed self-reported "good" or "excellent" well-being. Across various aspects of well-being, 36% rated their mental health as good or excellent, and 37% said the same about their physical health. An even smaller 32% proportion said their financial health is good or excellent.
These findings reflected an increase of 4 percentage points over those in the 2023 report, Guardian noted.
The study, fielded in January and February, consisted of two online surveys: one among 2,000 employee benefits decision-makers, the other among 2,000 Americans 22 or older who work full time or part time for a company with at least five employees.
Concerns About Personal Finances
Retirement-related worries are a top source of stress for Americans, the survey found. Forty-eight percent of respondents cited both not having enough money to last through retirement and not having a guaranteed source of income in retirement as major concerns.
At the same time, just half said they know how much money they will need in retirement, and only 36% considered themselves very good at managing their finances.
Forty-nine percent said they would face financial hardship without their workplace benefits.
Many employers recognize the role that benefits play in supporting financial and overall well-being, according to the survey. A majority said addressing and improving their employees' financial, physical and mental health is very important.
Interconnected Needs
The report also found that, especially during pivotal life moments, many Americans have interconnected mental, physical and financial well-being needs.
Seventy-three percent of respondents with high financial health also rated their emotional health as good or very good, while 82% with low financial health also self-reported poor emotional health.
Only 34% said they have a good work-life balance. Guardian said this likely contributed to the 33% increase in the number of workers who reported feeling burnt out.
