During the Budget, the Chancellor referenced the UK’s financial health, “debt is still too high. because excessive debt undermines our economic security, leaving us vulnerable to shocks.” Clearly employers are well placed to assist with improving their employees debt problems. Contributor Eve Read, Head of Financial Wellness at Mercer.

“Well said Mr Hammond! Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock is one of the four pillars of financial wellbeing. For an individual gaining control over this element of their finances isn’t just about reducing debt, but about also increasing short-term savings which can then protect them and their family from future unwanted sudden debt.

“The Autumn Budget introduced several measures that could help employees improve their financial health and focused in particular on younger generations. It was encouraging to see some changes which impact the first pillar of financial wellbeing, having control over day to day and month to month finances, through increasing income or reducing expenses. These include increasing the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, increasing the personal allowance (and the higher rate tax threshold to a lesser extent) and introducing a new rail savings card for 26-30 year olds.

“The focus on improving productivity continues, which should positively impact wages. But there is more to the story of productivity. Employees report that financial worries are a key factor impacting their productivity at work. Helping to reduce financial worries would therefore increase productivity, which would be a win-win-win for employees, the employer and the Chancellor too.

Ms Read added: “Employers are in a unique and trusted position to help their employees navigate the complexities of and increasing pressures on day-to-day finances, improve their financial literacy and provide them with access to tools and products which may help them to accelerate achievement of their short and longer term financial goals.”

Commenting on the stamp duty announcement Ms Read said: “The dream of home ownership continues to be a goal for many UK residents, reflecting a key part of the fourth pillar of financial wellbeing: being on track to meet financial goals. Hammond made a big splash about the removal of stamp duty for first time buyers but the reality is that many first time buyers beyond London don’t breach the stamp duty threshold and therefore this won’t provide much of a saving to most.

“For those paying average first time buyer prices**there would be a saving of c£2,500, but this is dwarfed by the required 10 percent house deposit (5 percent deposits being insufficient for many to secure a property) and this represents only 10.7 percent of the total outlay without further taking into account other costs or fees.”