Employers may have an incentive to help workers build emergency savings as financial strain increasingly spills into attendance, productivity and retention, according to new research from workplace emergency savings provider SecureSave.
More than one-third of workers (38%) said financial challenges caused them to miss work during the previous six months, according to SecureSave’s 2026 Financial Stress Survey. Another 28% said a financial emergency negatively affected their job performance.
Employer assistance could make a difference, at least according to workers. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said a $200 annual employer contribution to an emergency savings account would reduce their financial stress and improve their performance at work. Fifty-nine percent said the contribution would make them more likely to remain with their employer.
See also: Emergency savings: A ‘gateway drug’ to better retirement savings
The results suggest relatively modest emergency savings benefits could offer employers another way to address financial wellbeing while potentially reducing workplace disruptions and supporting retention.
“When employees have emergency savings, they are better prepared to manage sudden expenses without disrupting their financial wellbeing or work,” SecureSave co-founder Devin Miller says. “This is also a practical way for employers to support financial wellbeing and reduce the impact financial emergencies can have on everyday life and work.”
More than half of employees can’t cover a $500 emergency from savings
The potential workplace effects come amid significant gaps in workers’ financial cushions. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they could not cover an unexpected $500 expense from savings, while 26% reported having no emergency savings at all. Two-thirds had less than three months of expenses set aside, and 56% described their financial stress as moderate to high.
That shortfall is forcing some workers to make difficult spending decisions. Forty-one percent said they had skipped necessary expenses—including medical care, meals, rent or car repairs—during the past six months because they lacked sufficient emergency savings. Meanwhile, 37% had increased their credit card debt over the previous year.
Retirement security also is being affected. One-quarter of workers had reduced or paused retirement contributions, borrowed from a retirement account or withdrawn retirement savings. Twenty percent expected to work until at least age 70, and 14% said they might never retire.
Workers most commonly blamed their financial challenges on the cost of living, cited by 78%. Nearly half (48%) said their income had not kept pace with inflation, while 45% pointed to economic uncertainty.
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