Companies That Want a Healthier and More Productive Workforce Can Help Their Employees Save for the Future

In a Nutshell: Setting aside money for emergencies is easier said than done. But companies that offer their employees a way to save money for the future reap the rewards in better recruitment and retention. SecureSave, founded by a team that includes financial guru Suze Orman, partners with employers to offer their workers emergency savings accounts that make it easy to save for tomorrow. Employers can improve participation rates in SecureSave’s emergency savings program by offering incentives.

Setting goals can motivate you to do things you otherwise wouldn’t. People wouldn’t wake up at five o’clock in the morning to run three miles four times a week if they didn’t think it would help them to improve their physical fitness. And most people wouldn’t eat a diet full of vegetables if they didn’t think it would help them lose unwanted pounds.

Developing good money management habits will help you build a healthy financial future. And saving money for the future is a good way to be prepared for unexpected costs. One of the easier ways to start building a nest egg is through automatic deposits into savings accounts and retirement plans.

But saving money is often easier said than done. The everyday-demands on our earnings can make putting a little extra money aside for the future challenging. 

Our natural proclivity for instant gratification spurs us to spend money on things we want today rather than saving for our financial health decades from now. Businesses know that, which is  why checkout lines at some stores are stocked with eye-catching gadgets and sugary snacks. Sometimes, we need a nudge to align our savings practices with our goals. 

SecureSave helps people save for emergency expenses by partnering with employers to offer emergency savings accounts as part of company-sponsored employee benefit programs. We spoke with Devin Miller, SecureSave’s Co-Founder and CEO, to learn more about the SecureSave’s value proposition and its mission to assist employees in pursuit of financial security.

SecureSave launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, in addition to a health crisis, triggered the largest global economic crisis in more than a century. Miller told us the pandemic drew attention to the importance of emergency savings accounts.

“All of a sudden, as a country, we had the unfortunate demonstration of how unprepared many people were financially for unexpected expenses and situations,” Miller said. “It was a painful lesson for all of us to see because we’ve all had points in our lives where we learned what not having even a few hundred dollars looks and feels like. It was an important reminder for us as a society that so many people are still very vulnerable and unprepared for unexpected expenses.”

Miller co-founded SecureSave with Chief Technology Officer Bassam Saliba and two-time Emmy award winner and best-selling author Suze Orman. Orman hosts a popular podcast on personal finance, and her books on the topic have been translated into 12 languages.

SecureSave ties savings to workplace benefit packages. Miller told us data shows that it makes sense for employers to offer emergency savings programs for employees because it helps workers improve their financial health. Healthy employees are more productive because they can focus on the task at hand without being distracted by personal financial shortcomings.

SecureSave conveniently connects its emergency savings feature to an employer’s payroll process. And companies can offer incentives to encourage employees to enroll and start saving.

“With an incentive from an employer, you’re going to get a rate of return that’s kind of like a 401(k) with a match that you just can’t beat anywhere else,” Miller said. “We work with employers of all sizes to help them launch emergency savings programs in a way that creates really profound benefits for the employee and the employer. And usually, these programs include an incentive, which makes them a very valuable proposition for the employee.”

SecureSave works with partner banks — which offer a range of interest rates — to offer its program. 

Employers invite their employees to participate in the program and often motivate them with incentives like company matches.

“Around 93% of the employers we work with offer an incentive, typically over $100 per employee per year,” Miller said. “When you think about the fact that the average employee with SecureSave probably saves around $75 of their money each month, savings can add up quickly. Plus, they’re also getting an interest rate from our partner banks.”

High-yield savings accounts are touted as a way for consumers to access guaranteed returns insured by the FDIC. They can be fantastic vehicles for people saving tens of thousands of dollars or more, Miller told us.

But SecureSave’s program helps people who haven’t started saving yet to start funding an account that can grow to a few hundred or a thousand dollars in a relatively short span of time. You can start setting aside money for the future today, if you haven’t already. Starting to save today can be more helpful to your future financial picture than putting off saving until a time when you’ve found an account with the highest interest rates available.

Having automatic paycheck deductions that go toward a savings account is powerful because you don’t have to decide whether you want to save each time you receive a paycheck. The savings happen automatically.

“It shouldn’t be hard for people to set up a separate savings account and put a little bit of money into that account each time they receive a paycheck,” Miller told us. “But a shockingly small number of people actually go to the trouble to set and maintain that. What we do is make it so that when the employee gets invited to SecureSave, all they have to do is activate their account, and the process will automatically start.”

Enrolling in SecureSave’s program takes less time than it does to open a new account at a bank or credit union, Miller said. 

SecureSave uses an employer’s information about their employees to expedite the enrollment process. Employees don’t pay any fees to join SecureSave’s program, and they can use their savings for any purpose. They can also take their savings with them if they leave the company.

“This is the perfect emergency savings vehicle for the average American,” Miller told us. “Especially for people who are just getting started and trying to build their savings. The account can help them to get at least a few thousand dollars so they can ward off small things that happen in life that cause people to turn to payday loans or take early withdrawals from their 401(k) plans.”

Stagnant wages and inflation can put saving money on the backburner for most of us. And borrowing money to cover expenses can be difficult, especially if you have bad credit. Opening an emergency savings account is a good first step toward a financially healthy future.

SecureSave’s program has proven to be popular with workers, and more than 50% of employees with access to SecureSave’s program choose to participate. 

Approximately 99% of employees who enroll in the program continue to participate on a monthly basis. Most workers save $400 within five months and $1,000 in their first 12 to 18 months in the program.

As successful as the program is with employees, Miller told us employers also report satisfaction with the company’s product.

“And it’s hard to get employees to engage with these types of benefits that promote financial wellness because it’s a very personal topic,” Miller said. “But when we work with an employer, we’re often one of the most-used benefits in their entire company, and it stays that way for a long time.”

Employers that are on the fence about offering emergency savings programs should consider the benefits they provide. Research shows that employers that offer emergency savings programs enjoy higher employee productivity and a 50% reduction in early 401(k) withdrawals. They also see higher employee retention rates. 

SecureSave works with employers in various industries, including the healthcare and senior living industries. SecureSave also works with recruitment and staffing agencies as well as civic and social organizations.

“We work with companies that employ people who are looking for every financial advantage they can,” Miller said. “But the average type of company we work with is a business in the healthcare, manufacturing, or service industries. Businesses like that are the bread and butter of our day-to-day economy in this country, and that’s who we serve.”