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What is Financial Health?

Financial health—simply put, the state of a household’s finances—represents a household’s ability to make ends meet and stay on track in the face of financial setbacks. The Financial Health Network partners with leaders across industries to measure and improve financial health for their customers, employees, and community members—especially those who are most vulnerable.

What is Financial Health?

How To Measure Financial Health

Financial health goes beyond narrow metrics like credit scores to provide a holistic assessment of a household’s financial well-being. Financially Healthy households are able to meet current financial needs and obligations, on track to meet future financial needs and obligations, and able to absorb and recover from unexpected expenses or drops in income. 

Our proprietary FinHealth Score® framework translates this definition into measurable outcomes using eight key indicators across four pillars: Spend, Save, Borrow, and Plan and Protect. The Score offers a standardized way to assess household financial health and track progress over time. 

If your business is interested in using the FinHealth Score in your technology products, platforms, or commercial services, please contact Attune.

Spend: Spending relative to income; On-time bill payment Save: Liquid savings levels; Progress on long-term savings goals Borrow: Debt manageability; Credit score Plan and Protect: Adequacy of insurance coverage; Planning ahead financially

Why Financial Health Matters

69% of households in America aren’t Financially Healthy

America is in the midst of a longstanding financial health crisis. Nearly 7 in 10 households in the U.S. aren’t Financially Healthy, and historically marginalized groups face even bigger barriers. At the same time, financial health is not static. In any given year, millions of households are improving their financial health or are experiencing heightened financial vulnerability. Change is possible, and people are looking to their financial services providers, employers, local leaders, and policymakers for help. 

Financial Health Strategy Drives the Bottom Line

Focusing on customer and employee financial health can help you drive real business outcomes—like retention, referrals, and increased lifetime value—while building a better future for all. 

80

of people want their financial institution to help improve their financial health

2X

more likely that people will stay with their financial institution if it supports their financial health

60%

of employees say they’re more likely to stay at a job that provides useful financial wellness benefits

*Sources: Building Valuable Customer Relationships Through Financial Health, The Case for Employers To Invest in Employee Financial Health

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How To Improve Financial Health

Achieving financial health for all requires collaboration from every corner of our financial system: financial institutions, employers, innovators, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists, policymakers, regulators, researchers, and beyond. As the pioneer of the financial health movement, we’ve spent more than two decades helping leaders across sectors identify needs and deliver solutions that truly make a difference. Here’s how we can help you move financial health forward.  

INFORM
Gain insight into trends and disparities through our free public research or custom analysis for your organization.  

 

CONSULT
Tap into our evidence-based tools and guidance to build an effective financial health strategy. 

 

INNOVATE
Identify, test, and scale finhealth solutions by engaging our behavioral design, fintech, and measurement experts.

CONNECT
Swap ideas, celebrate wins, and get support for the journey through our events and our Member community. 

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