Blog
Access Commonwealth’s latest thinking, new ideas, and practical insights from our team of innovators, researchers, and business experts.
Designing Financial Solutions for Elder Caregivers
Introducing Commonwealth’s Financial Resilience Project
No one knows how the COVID-19 pandemic will end, but soon after the virus arrived in the US, it became clear that this was not just a once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis, but an economic one too. And for Americans already…
What Are Americans’ Perceptions of Financial Insecurity?
According to a recent Commonwealth report, more than 80% of Americans agree that financial insecurity is a big problem. In today’s uncertain economic climate, where business closures and mass layoffs have become the new normal, this finding may not be…
A Tsunami of Volatility
Commonwealth’s Financial Resilience Project: COVID Stories, Rapid Insights closely tracks the financial lives of low- and moderate-income households over the course of several months. Our project follows 56 households from 24 states across the US to gain rapid insights in…
How Recordkeepers Can Address Emergency Savings
Employer-sponsored emergency savings products were needed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has both underscored and exacerbated the detrimental impact that financial insecurity can have on employee performance and retirement readiness. Although the CARES Act allows retirement plan participants to…
Rethinking Employer-Sponsored Savings Accounts
In a matter of months, the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged millions of people living in the US into deeper financial insecurity. Pre-pandemic, many Americans struggled to build and maintain emergency savings for even a minor unexpected…
3 Takeaways from EMERGE Live Day 4
Amid an unexpected economic downturn, many Americans have found themselves grappling with the financial insecurity that accompanies massive layoffs and a widespread loss of income. At Financial Health Network’s EMERGE Live 2020, industry leaders gathered to share the solutions that employers,…
Saving Through a Crisis (1 of 2)
In the months since the outbreak of COVID-19, the pandemic has continued to expose and exacerbate cracks in people’s financial lives. In our latest research, Commonwealth partnered with the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association’s (DCIIA) Retirement Research Center on a series…
Retirement Plan Contributions
With the US economy shrinking to an estimated 6.5% in 2020, employers are making difficult decisions about how to cut costs, including laying off or furloughing employees as they evaluate their cash positions during this crisis. Many employers are also…
Preliminary Insights on the Financially Vulnerable Investor
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the financial fragility of many Americans. Much of Commonwealth’s work focuses on addressing this fragility by building solutions that support financial security. As we’ve done this critical work, we’ve also had our…
How COVID-19 Is Changing Financial Innovation
COVID-19 is changing the way people manage their financial lives. Americans are increasing their use of mobile/online banking, visiting bank branches less, and switching to digital or challenger banks. At the same time, financial insecurity, whether long-standing or due to…