ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–A majority of credit union members and employees are struggling financially, according to a study released by PSCU that compared the financial health of credit union members and employees against a national benchmark.
The study, “How Credit Unions Can Become Financial Health Providers,” was conducted by the Financial Health Network with support from Members Development Company (MDC) and PSCU.
The research found more than 60% of credit union members surveyed are struggling financially and at least one-third live paycheck-to-paycheck. In line with these findings, more than 60% of credit union employees are struggling financially, too, PSCU reported.
While recent years have seen strong economic growth and positive gains in Americans’ general financial well-being, credit union members’ financial health remains stagnant, PSCU said in releasing the findings.
“The aggregate data shows the credit union industry still has work to do to improve financial health among its members and employees,” said Merry Pateuk, senior vice president, Industry Engagement at PSCU. “Our goal through this research and partnership is to help credit unions and other industry organizations rethink how we operate, the investments in products and services we make and the resources we provide in order to prioritize financial well-being. Measuring the financial health of members and employees is a key step toward improving financial outcomes.”
A Need to Move to Forefront
PSCU said the study further suggests credit unions need to move to the forefront of financial health education to compete effectively against other financial institutions and big banks. The study also provides an overview of how credit unions can pivot to become financial health providers, the CUSO said.
PSCU reported that by leveraging the FinHealthCheck, a cutting-edge business-to-business platform for credit unions, the project team distributed financial health surveys to members and employees of Allegacy FCU in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Meritrust Credit Union in Wichita, Kan., in October and November 2020.
In addition, Financial Health Network tapped into available data from past project work with seven additional credit unions and interviewed a diverse set of credit union executives and thought leaders, PSCU said. The Financial Health Network segmented its nationally representative U.S. Financial Health Pulse data set to compare survey responses from self-identified credit union members to the benchmark population.
New Offerings Planned
Leveraging these project findings, PSCU said it, along with the Financial Health Network and MDC, plan to identify in-market products to better meet the needs of members and employees to improve financial well-being, as well as provide opportunities to develop new offerings that fill market gaps.