Employee Benefits During Times of Financial Stress
If you have ever taken a vacation with paid time off, received an employer-matched contribution to your retirement account, or benefited from company-sponsored tuition assistance, you are familiar with employee benefits. Employee benefits are the range of perks offered by employers for a variety of reasons: to enhance employees’ lives, to stay competitive in the marketplace, or even to increase employee productivity. The benefits can include healthcare options, financial wellness, education assistance, and a myriad of other tools. Perhaps one of the most common employee benefits is the 401(k) plan, which allows an employee to save for retirement, often with an employer-matched contribution.
Employers are smart to focus on providing benefits that fortify an employee’s financial wellness, especially during times of financial uncertainty. The American Psychological Association’s 2025 Stress in America Survey showed the economy (inflation and unemployment) as the top cause of stress in the lives of respondents (at 75%). And when we focus on the business world, the January 2026 PwC Employee Wellness Survey found personal financial strain experienced by its employees is “undermining productivity, engagement, and long-term workforce stability.” Ubiquitous employee benefits associated with financial well-being include 401(k) programs and access to a financial advisor.
However, the type of financial strain brought to light by PwC’s Employee Wellness Survey is not the type tied to uncertainty over sufficient future savings. Instead, PwC employees reported distress over affording expenses today. A majority (57%) of PwC employees reported financial stress was their top life stressor, with 74% of those employees saying the stress affected their mental health. Likewise, a 2024 survey of Human Resource and Risk professionals found 43% of employees reported they will experience burnout at work due to financial stress, including from cost-of-living increases.
Financial stress can have complex effects on a person: anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and worsened preexisting health conditions. The World Health Organization estimates that common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, cost the global economy $1 trillion US dollars, predominantly from lost productivity. Loss of productivity makes sense since an employee who is experiencing the effects of financial stress is likely distracted or calling in sick. Companies have a vested interest in maintaining a workforce that is financially well.
Prenuptial Agreements Provide Comprehensive Financial Wellness
Prenuptial agreements are often overlooked as a tool to achieve comprehensive financial wellness. However, prenuptial agreements arguably can be as important as a retirement account when it comes to planning for the future. Consider the rules for property division during a divorce. Spouses living in community property states generally split marital property equally. Assets (or debt) acquired during the marriage are considered marital property, subject to some exceptions. For spouses living in equitable distribution states, property division is meant to be divided fairly after considering various factors, such as future employment prospects, which may create an outcome that is fair but not equal. Without a prenuptial agreement in place, a person can have the best intentions to create a bright financial future by utilizing the services of a financial planner or fully funding their retirement account, only to have their plans upended by an unforeseen divorce.
Prenuptial agreements provide security in a very straightforward way. Prior to marriage, the two parties meet and discuss their individual financial circumstances and how they would like their assets and debt divided in the event of divorce or death. (This can also be done after marriage, in which case it would be a postnuptial agreement). A prenuptial agreement will not only protect what a party brings to the marriage, but it can also protect what that party will create during the marriage. It is a very solid form of financial planning. As one author notes, “A prenup isn’t unromantic. What’s unromantic is inheriting someone else’s debts or waking up to financial chaos you didn’t bargain for.”
Divorce can wreak havoc on the best laid plans. The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory measures the risk an individual has for experiencing a “major health breakdown” in the next two years based on values assigned to various life events. The biggest life event impacting an individual on the Homes-Rahe Inventory is the death of a spouse, which ranks at 100. Right below the death of a spouse is divorce, at a score of 73. While a prenuptial agreement cannot ease the emotional pain of a divorce, it can reduce much of the conflict that occurs at the end of a marriage, while also saving time and money.
Couples who divorce will need to acclimate to a new financial reality, which may be especially difficult for women due to pay disparity. As one woman describes it: “Divorce wiped out my savings—fast. My credit shifted, my lifestyle tightened, and suddenly every decision—from groceries to career moves—came with a whole new kind of pressure . . . And five years later, I’m still digging out. Rebuilding wasn’t a bounce back; it became a chapter.” It seems short-sighted to provide employees with tools like 401(k) accounts to enhance their retirement and life insurance to protect their families from unseen dangers, only to leave them susceptible to the avoidable economic harms of a divorce.
Younger Generations Recognize the Value of a Prenuptial Agreement
Prenuptial agreements are becoming more relevant to younger consumers. Hello Prenup reports that 75% of its customers are aged 18-39. This makes sense given that in a 2022 Harris poll, 41% of Generation Z respondents (generally defined as between ages 13 and 28) reported signing a prenuptial agreement, compared to 5% of the Boomer Generation (ages 61 to 79) or 7% of the Silent Generation (ages 81 to 98). What could cause this increase? Perhaps because younger generations are marrying later and coming to their marriage with more assets and wealth. Notably, women initiated the prenuptial process in 52% of Hello Prenup’s cases.
Keeping pace with evolving employee needs is a critical component to providing effective employee benefit plans, since both employer and employee are investing money in these services. As a 2024 survey by MercerMarsh points out, a modernized benefit program can:
- Engage employees,
- Mitigate long-term cost, and
- Maintain a healthier, present, and productive workforce.
Prenuptial Services Can Be Incorporated Easily as An Employee Benefit
Many employers already provide employee benefits geared toward legal or financial planning. It would be easy to assimilate prenuptial services into financial education programs. Or an employer who already offers assistance with legal services for estate planning could expand those services to include prenuptial agreements. As with any other employee benefit, it would be voluntary and confidential.
As a case in point, the Michigan Civil Service Commission offers an optional legal plan benefit to its employees that covers a wide range of family and domestic-related issues. The Commission explains “In today’s world, no matter where you are in your life . . . you are almost certain to experience life events that have potential legal ramifications.” The legal plan carries a $7.45 biweekly rate, making it within reach for many employees who might not otherwise be able to afford an attorney’s retainer.
Offering Prenuptial Services Can Benefit Employees and Employers Alike
This article has focused on the importance of financial wellness in a company’s workforce. An employee who is facing financial stress is not focused on his or her job. Divorce does not affect every married couple, but when it does happen, it can serve as a huge stressor on employees’ lives and financial wellness. Fortunately, prenuptial agreements are an easy way to provide financial security, and they are experiencing a greater adoption rate within the youngest group of our workforce. Prenuptial services can be seamlessly incorporated into existing legal and financial employee benefits, just as companies provide insurance or financial planning. Offering prenuptial services is a smart, forward-thinking benefit that supports employees holistically.
