How Is Financial Services Addressing the Savings Crisis During COVID-19?
Now more than ever, people and companies are turning towards savings to help them manage the impact of COVID-19. What’s missing is a lack of low- or no-minimum balance savings accounts that allow Americans to build, use, and rebuild their…
The CARES Act
The CARES Act facilitates immediate access to retirement funds. While necessary during these unprecedented times, it also highlights the fact that millions of Americans depend on their retirement savings for emergency expenses. The decision to tap into retirement savings–at any…
Building the Case for Emergency Savings
Recently, Commonwealth partnered with Professor Howell Jackson’s Fintech HLS class to explore new pathways to dramatically increase access to emergency savings for lower- and moderate-income families. The collaboration led to the development of an HLS case study, which is used…
Employer Emergency Cash Programs During COVID-19
We have all seen the headlines—more than 16 million people have filed unemployment claims in the US— and those in low-wage or hourly jobs are more likely to be impacted economically. Even if you have been able to maintain your…
New Report: Etsy Sellers Look for More Support with the Challenge of Emergency Savings
Non-traditional workers have been at the forefront of the national discussion in recent weeks, driven in part by the passage of the CARES Act, which includes unemployment benefits for gig workers, freelancers, and the self-employed. Long before the COVID-19 crisis…
Piloting Employee Emergency Savings
The Federal Reserve found in 2018 that as many as 39% of households would struggle to cover an unplanned $400 expense. The lack of household emergency savings and financial insecurity impacts not only families, friends, and the community, but employers…
How Retirement Plan Recordkeepers Can Help Solve the Emergency Savings Crisis
By Nick Maynard Retirement plan recordkeepers are increasingly aware of the need for employee financial wellness programs, rating them among their top 3 priorities for 2019 and as a key aspect of retirement preparation. With the consolidation of the recordkeeping…
Major Partners Join the BlackRock Emergency Savings Initiative, Building Momentum Around Financial Security
At Commonwealth, we’ve spent 18 years designing, testing, and implementing solutions to make financial security possible for those who need it most. Given this background, we couldn’t be more thrilled that earlier this year, BlackRock announced the first phase of…
A Little-Known Employer Financial Tool with Big Potential for Employee Financial Security
One Employer Strategy to Address Employee Financial Emergencies and Reap Significant Business Benefits in the Process
3 Ways Financial Institutions Can Help End the Savings Crisis
All too often, we see financial capability focused on the role of the individual and how they can improve their own financial security. However, at Commonwealth, our research has shown that a lack of tools and opportunities is a primary…