A financial wellness benefit should include: education, emergency savings, student loan assistance, retirement matching, coaching, and Earned Wage Access (known as on-demand pay).
Companies that typically offer these benefits want to address financial stress. In 2025, a Morgan Stanley study showed that 66% of employees believed that financial stress was negatively affecting their work and personal life. Small employers can often cover much of the cost with SECURE Act 2.0 tax credits.
Here's what to include, what it costs, and what tax breaks are available for a financial wellness benefit when analysing broader employee benefits trends.
Core components
- Financial education: workshops or digital tools on budgeting, debt, and investing.
- Emergency savings: under IRS guidance on SECURE 2.0, sidecar Roth accounts inside 401(k) plans have a balance cap of $2,600 for 2026, with the first four withdrawals tax and penalty free. 37% of adults could not cover a $400 emergency entirely with cash, savings, or a credit card paid off at next statement, per the Federal Reserve 2024 SHED report.
- Student loan match: SECURE 2.0 lets employers match 401(k) contributions based on qualified student loan payments, treated as elective deferrals
- Retirement matching: auto-enrolment is mandatory for most new 401(k) plans, with 3 to 10% starting contribution and 1% auto-escalation. Employees aged 60 to 63 have a super catch-up limit of $11,250
- One-on-one coaching: personalised guidance from a certified financial planner, more effective than generic digital tools
- Earned Wage Access or EWA: on-demand pay. Employees draw earned wages before payday.
Tax credits for small businesses under SECURE Act 2.0
- Up to 50 employees: 100% credit for plan start-up costs for three years, up to $5,000/year ($15,000 total)
- Employer contribution credit: up to $1,000 per employee for the first 50 employees earning under $100,000; 100% in years 1-2, phasing to 25% by year 5
- Auto-enrolment credit: $500 for new plans starting 2025 or later
Combined, the start-up and auto-enrolment credits exceed $16,500 across the first three years, while employer contribution credits run separately for up to five years. Plan amendment deadline for most SECURE 2.0 provisions: December 31, 2026.
A practical starting point
For a 20-person company, retirement matching (using the SECURE 2.0 credits), emergency savings access, and one group financial education session per quarter gets a program running. Net of credits, the first-year cost can be close to zero. SMBs that adopt these mesauers typically report positive outcomes in publich. 60% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers financial wellness benefits. Companies with programs say their productivity goes up by 20%.
Disclaimer:
This article informs. It does not advise on finance or law. The IRS may update tax-credit amounts.
TL;DR
- A financial wellness benefit typically covers education, emergency savings, student loan assistance, retirement matching, coaching, and Earned Wage Access.
- SECURE 2.0 provides more than $16,500 in start-up and auto-enrolment credits across the first three years for small businesses, with employer contribution credits continuing through year five.
- A typical starting point is retirement matching plus emergency savings, with education and coaching layered on as the program matures.