New Research Shows Pandemic Had All Income Levels Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Purchasing Power® Report Reveals the State of Employee Finances: 2021

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Sep 27, 2021, 10:01 ET

ATLANTA, Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Household income levels don't discriminate. Living paycheck to paycheck from February 2020-2021 was reported by full-time employees/those with a spouse employed full-time at all household income levels¹, and those with household incomes less than $100,000 say that what worries them today is having enough money in emergency savings to cover unexpected expenses (40%). Further, while the majority (52%) of full-time employees/those with a spouse employed full-time expect their financial situation to be better by January 2022, 51% also anticipate that their financial stress level will be the same or worse in February 2022 than it is now.

Those are among the key findings of "The State of Employee Finances: 2021, A Purchasing Power Report^®", based on a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power, a voluntary benefit fintech company. The survey was conducted online within the U.S., February 10-12, 2021, among 917 U.S. adults 18 and older who are employed full-time or have a spouse employed full-time. It provides insight into the effect of COVID-19 on their financial situation, their financial stress and what the future holds.

"Prior to the pandemic, most workers already were financially stressed and living paycheck to paycheck² with little or no savings for unexpected expenses, and the impact of COVID-19 took it to an even lower level," said Trey Loughran, CEO, Purchasing Power. "Though the economy is better now than it was during the shutdown last year, the pandemic is still with us, and it will take more time for employees' financial situation to recover."

Loughran continued, "This report paints a clearer picture of what employees' financial situation and financial stress levels are today and will be in January 2022, and ways employers can help. The study also shows that employers who implement robust financial wellness benefits will gain from increased employee performance and retention."

According to the survey, full-time employees said that financial well-being benefits matter. In fact, 78% of full-time employees reported that they can tell how much their employer cares about their financial well-being by the benefits they offer. And 79% said they would be more likely to stay with their present employer if they offered more financial well-being benefits.

Access "The State of Employee Finances: 2021, A Purchasing Power^® Report" at https://corp.purchasingpower.com/resources/industry-insights/2021-state-of-employee-finances

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power from February 10-12, 2021, among 2,015 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of which 917 are employed full-time or have a spouse that is employed full-time. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].

About Purchasing Power, LLC
Purchasing Power, LLC, is an Atlanta-based voluntary benefit company celebrating 20 years as the leading employee purchase program for consumer products and services through payroll deduction. Helping employees achieve financial flexibility, Purchasing Power is available to millions of people through large companies including Fortune 500s, associations and government agencies. Purchasing Power is a Flexpoint Ford, LLC company. For more information, visit corp.purchasingpower.com.

Purchasing Power is a registered trademark of Purchasing Power, LLC.
©2021 Purchasing Power, LLC. All rights reserved.

¹ Responses by household income (HHI) were 52% HHI <$50K, 47% HHI $50K-$74.9K, 38% HHI $75K-$99.9K, and 36% HHI $100K+, according to The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power, Feb. 10-12, 2021.
²Forbes, "78% of American Workers Live Paycheck to Paycheck," Zack Friedman, Jan. 11, 2019.