The report found that only 37% of companies had any kind of strategy in place, although this was a marked improvement on the 15% recorded in 2015.
Covid-19 positively impacted the amount of financial wellbeing support on offer by employers, as 86% of those surveyed took further steps to help employees during the early days of the pandemic.
Addressing the financial needs of employees:
Financial wellbeing: why it's time for HR to talk money
Financial education is now a necessity
More action needed to address workers' money worries
Speaking to HR magazine, Jeremy Milton, principal and financial wellbeing leader at Mercer, said: "Since the pandemic, and now with the cost of living crisis biting, many organisations have actively elevated and promoted overall employee wellbeing to the heart of their people strategies.
"They recognised that in demonstrating and delivering on all aspects of wellbeing, including better financial wellbeing support, they are likely to positively impact their employee engagement and retention rates in these turbulent times."
Businesses have a responsibility to support their workers financially, Milton added.
He continued: "With employee need and expectations perhaps never having been higher, we would encourage all organisations to actively engage with their workforces to hear more directly what financial wellbeing help and support would have most impact - and then focus on taking the actions that would be most valuable to help your employees take positive actions in the short term.
"More employees are now viewing their employers' support for their financial wellbeing education and needs as important as the more established support offered for their mental and physical wellbeing."
Mercer's Financial Wellbeing Index Report assessed the financial wellbeing initiatives of over 400,000 employees spread across more than 140 companies between April and October 2021.
