Survey: Majority of Workers Worry About Credit Card Debt
Groceries and other necessities, not discretionary spending, are the major drivers
Washington, DC (December 10, 2024) – More than three-quarters of American workers say their current level of debt is a problem, with credit card debt being their biggest concern.
The 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey, a joint project of Greenwald Research and the Employee Benefit Research Institute, found that 77% of workers identified credit card debt as a major problem, while 55% cited personal loans or line of credit debt and 49% named medical or health-related debt.
“Many workers with credit card debt are using their credit cards to purchase necessities rather than luxuries,” says Greg Hershberger, Managing Director, Health & Benefits at Greenwald Research. “About half report that groceries and vehicle expenses contribute to that debt, with significant numbers also citing household utilities and non-grocery household necessities. The majority report keeping discretionary spending to a minimum to make sure they can afford it.”
Survey respondents say medical debt is most often related to a health emergency (38%), prescription drugs (38%) or a chronic illness (28%). Another 26% cite mental health care as contributing to their medical debt.
Major findings in the fifth annual Workplace Wellness Survey, which examines worker attitudes toward employment-based benefits as well as financial well-being, include:
Concerns about well-being are trending downward. Concern about mental well-being dropped from 5.8 out of 10 last year to 5.5 this year. Concern about physical well-being fell to 5.7 from 6.2. And concern about overall financial well-being dropped from 6.9 two years ago to 6.3 in 2024.
Concerns about debt levels is strong. Fully 77% see their credit card debt as worrisome, especially since most are using credit cards to cover daily necessities like groceries (52%), vehicle expenses (49%), utilities (36%) and non-grocery household necessities (30%). About 8 in 10 respondents report keeping discretionary spending to a minimum – including eating out/ordering in (29%), leisure travel (28%), entertainment (19%) and luxury goods (11%).
Job satisfaction has remained steady. A majority – 56% – say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their current job, while 31% are somewhat satisfied and 14% are dissatisfied.
Benefit package satisfaction remains steady – but many workers are asking for additional contributions to benefits from their employers. Fully 80% of workers report their satisfied with their benefit packages. Still, 51% say they’d like a bigger employer contribution to those benefits. In addition: 32% would like more benefits or resources to help with their financial well-being; 31% would like more benefits to choose from; 31% would like the ability to use Paid Time Off to “buy” other benefits; 25% would like more benefits or resources to help with their physical well-being or health; 24% want more benefits or resources to help with their emotional well-being or mental health; 21% want more personalized help in selecting benefits, and 19% would like more benefits or resources to help with caregiving for children and/or adults.
Younger workers are more likely to see value in regularly changing employers over the course of their career – 37% of respondents aged 21-34 as opposed to just 22% of those aged 50-64. In addition, younger workers prefer to work for one employer for shorter periods of time – 38% of those 21-34 prefer to work for one employer for two to five years, compared to 17% of those aged 35-49 and 11% of those aged 50-64. Only 12% of younger workers prefer to work for one employer for 21 or more years, compared to 36% of those aged 50-64.
The 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey was conducted with the financial support of AARP, Fidelity Investments, Merck, New York Life, OneAmerica, Evernorth, Mercer, Morgan Stanley, NRECA and Voya Financial.
About the Survey
Greenwald Research conducted online interviews with 1,505 full-time and part-time workers ages 21-64, from July 22 through August 18, 2024. The margin of error (at the 95% confidence level) is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
Greenwald Research is a leading independent custom research firm and consulting partner to the health and wealth industries that applies creative quantitative and qualitative methods to produce knowledge that helps companies stay competitive and navigate industry change. By leveraging deep subject matter expertise and a trusted consultative approach, Greenwald offers comprehensive services for weaving rich research stories that answer strategic business questions.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a non-profit, independent, and unbiased resource organization that provides the most authoritative and object information about critical issues relating employee benefit programs in the United States. For more information, visit www.ebri.org.
Contact:
Herb Perone
media@greenwaldresearch.com
301-512-7636
