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Financial Support: Practical Help with Cost-of-Living Pressure

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Financial pressure doesn’t stay at home. Worries about bills, debt, rising costs or unexpected expenses can affect how people feel, which in turn impacts how they focus and perform at work.

 

Cost-of-living support doesn’t have to mean one big solution. Often, the most useful help is practical, easy to find and relevant to everyday pressure.

 

Talk to us about supporting your people with financial pressure

Why does cost-of-living pressure matter at work?

Financial pressure often starts with everyday life: the weekly shop, fuel, childcare, rent, mortgage payments and unexpected bills. Long term planning matters but the immediate pressure of whether pay will stretch until the end of the month is what impacts most people day to day.

Money worries can affect sleep, focus, confidence and wellbeing. They can also lead employees to ask for pay rises, advances or urgent support without knowing what else is available.

Employers can’t solve every financial challenge their people face. They can make practical support easier to find, understand and act on.

A strong financial support offer doesn’t need to start with complex advice. Often, the most visible impact comes from helping people understand and use support that already exists.

My Group provides the employee experience and connects employees with the appropriate service. Any regulated advice is provided by an FCA-authorised company within My Group or an appropriately authorised third-party provider.

How can My Group help with financial wellbeing?

Behind the numbers are people trying to make everyday life feel more manageable.

They may be stretching pay further, dealing with debt, covering unexpected costs or trying to understand benefits they already have. Others may want clearer information about pensions, protection or longer-term planning.

We start by understanding what people are dealing with, then help employers make financial support clearer and more relevant to everyday life. Where money worries link with health, wellbeing or workplace pressures, financial support can sit alongside other areas of My Group support.

Financial wellbeing support is not financial advice. It can include general education, communication, tools and signposting that help people understand money-related topics more clearly. Regulated financial advice is different and must be provided by appropriately authorised professionals. Where it is needed, we can provide help with a route to it.

What can financial support include?

Financial support is rarely one thing. It may bring together everyday savings, clearer benefit communication, flexible options and routes into financial education, so employees have practical support that feels recognisable and useful.

Everyday money support

For some employers, the first priority is helping people reduce the cost of things they already buy.

Discounts, cashback, gift cards and savings can make support feel immediate and useful, especially when household budgets are under pressure.

Find out more about discounts, savings and cashback

Choice and flexibility

Different people need different support at different points in life.

Flexible benefits and salary sacrifice options can give employees more choice over the support they receive, where the employer chooses to offer them.

Find out more about Flexible Benefits

Pay timing

Unexpected costs don’t always arrive neatly around payday.

On-demand pay can give employees access to pay they’ve already earned before the usual payday. It may help some employees manage short-term pressure, depending on their circumstances and how it is used, though it works best as one part of a broader approach rather than a standalone solution.

Find out more about On Demand Pay

Understanding value

Many employees don’t see the full value of what their employer provides.

Financial education, pension communication and Total Reward Statements can help people understand what is available, how to access it and how their workplace benefits fit together.

Where appropriate, My Group can also provide routes into regulated financial advice through appropriately authorised advisers. Any regulated advice is provided by authorised professionals and is based on the individual’s own circumstances.

Find out more about Financial Education

How does financial support reach people?

Financial support has to reach people in a way that feels clear and relevant.

A benefits page or policy document isn’t always enough. People may not look for support until money is already tight. Existing benefits can be missed because they feel hidden, complicated or unrelated to everyday life.

The My Group employee portal can bring financial support together in one place. Targeted communications can explain what is available at the moments employees are most likely to need it. Video or in-person financial education sessions may be useful for topics that need more than a written summary, and financial education consultants can deliver these in the workplace, helping people make sense of financial education, everyday savings and benefits value.

Total Reward Statements can bring pay, benefits, rewards and employer contributions together. That helps employees see the value of what they receive, not just the amount that appears in their bank account.

59%

of employees say current financial worries prevent them performing their best at work.

1 in 4

workers have lost sleep over money worries.

only 15%

15% of UK organisations have a formal financial wellbeing policy or strategy.

Talk to us about financial support

Some organisations want to help employees with immediate cost-of-living pressure. Others want to improve benefit engagement, strengthen financial education, or help people understand the full value of what they already receive.

Talk to us about financial support

Frequently asked questions

Employers can’t control the cost of living, but they can make practical support easier to access and understand. That might include everyday savings, salary sacrifice options, flexible benefits, on-demand pay, financial education or clearer communication around existing benefits. The right starting point depends on what employees are dealing with and what support is already in place.

Financial wellbeing support and financial advice are different.

Financial wellbeing support can include general education, communication, tools and signposting that help people understand money-related topics more clearly. Regulated financial advice involves an authorised adviser making recommendations based on an individual’s personal circumstances. Where regulated advice is involved, it must be provided by appropriately authorised professionals.

Everyday savings help people reduce the cost of things they already buy, such as groceries, clothing, household items or gifts. The saving may not solve every financial pressure, but it can make regular spending feel a little more manageable. It is also one of the easier forms of financial support for employees to understand and use quickly.

On-demand pay gives employees the option to access pay they’ve already earned before the usual payday. It can help people manage short-term pressure when unexpected costs arrive at the wrong time. It should be communicated clearly so employees understand how it works and when it may be useful.

Many employees don’t see the full value of what their employer provides. Total Reward Statements bring pay, benefits, rewards and employer contributions together in one place, so the overall package is easier to understand. That can help employees see more clearly the value of what they receive through work, while helping employers make their existing investment more visible.

Regulatory Disclosure

My Group provides the employee experience and connects employees with the appropriate service. Any regulated advice is provided by an FCA-authorised company within My Group or an appropriately authorised third-party provider.

Health and Protection benefits are arranged and administered by My Health Xtras Ltd, registered in England and Wales (11742197) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 833700).

Gee 7 Wealth Management Limited is registered in England and Wales (1047306) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 455935).

Details can be checked on the Financial Services Register.

Registered office: 2 Charlesworth Court, Knights Way, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury. SY1 3AB.