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How Workplace Emergency Savings Accounts Can Boost Employee Well-Being
Associate Director, Inclusive Saving and Investing
Earlier in 2025, the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP) partnered with SecureSave, a provider of workplace emergency savings accounts (ESAs), to design a survey of 274 SecureSave users focused on financial well-being. Aspen FSP used the survey responses and administrative data on ESA activity to independently conduct an analysis and explore the relationship between financial well-being and workplace ESAs.
Given the relatively small sample size, this research brief is meant to start the discussion and catalyze further research, focusing on three major takeaways, all of which hold across the income spectrum:
Having more workplace emergency savings is strongly associated with higher financial well-being.
Having higher financial well-being scores and more emergency savings is associated with better employee satisfaction and higher retention.
ESAs do not reduce retirement savings, with many people increasing contributions to retirement savings plans while contributing to a workplace ESA.
This brief comes at an exciting moment when many researchers and organizations are publishing independent research on the impact of emergency savings, and when policy leaders are pushing toward solutions that will make emergency savings more effective for low- to moderate-income workers as well as more common inside and outside the workplace.
We hope this analysis catalyzes further action, research, and investment in this dynamic and promising field, and we look forward to partnering with policymakers, employers, and innovators as they work to deliver emergency savings solutions that help families better cope with financial shocks and set a foundation for longer-term wealth-building.
Note: This brief is Aspen FSP’s independent assessment of the data. Aspen FSP was not compensated by SecureSave in any way.
Aspen FSP partnered with Canary, a provider of employee emergency relief funds, to explore how workers used this workplace offering when faced with financial emergencies, as well as how it impacted their financial security and experiences at work.
Most households experience at least one financial shock in a given year, but there are few comprehensive solutions to help them. How can we solve this persistent challenge?
