We’re heading downhill very fast,’ unless employers start providing this lucrative benefit to their workers: Suze Orman

A new bill with bipartisan support would help employees, supporters of that bill say

Americans trying to save money for unexpected expenses face several challenges, including months of high inflation, wage stagnation, and the sheer difficulty of postponing gratification in an age when people spend billions of dollars online in a single day.

It’s hard to put money aside for a rainy day. Indeed, personal-finance guru Suze Orman has this to say about saving: “It takes an extraordinary human being, seriously, to say, ‘I’m taking this much money out of my paycheck and I’m going to put it in an emergency savings account and not touch it.’”

‘It takes an extraordinary human being, seriously, to say, ‘I’m taking this much money out of my paycheck and I’m going to put it in an emergency savings account and not touch it.’

— Suze Orman

She does not hold out much hope for people doing that, especially when there is so much pressure to keep up with the latest trends and complete the holiday gift shopping. “It won’t happen, it has never happened and unless employers start to help employees do that, we’re heading, really, downhill very fast,” she said.

Unfortunately, Americans’ lack of savings is not a new issue. According to the Federal Reserve’s annual survey on financial wellness, roughly two-thirds of Americans said they could cover an unplanned $400 emergency expense with cash, savings, or a credit card paid off at the next statement.

The findings, based on earlier research, were released in May. The end of pandemic-era government benefits hasn’t helped the savings rate. The personal savings rate was 3.1% in September. According to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, it was 7.9% a year ago.

Now for the good news from Orman, who was speaking Tuesday at a Bipartisan Policy Center panel: Orman thinks that if employers helped employees set up emergency savings accounts, many workers would take advantage of the offer. She also stated that they would most likely reserve the money they are saving solely for unplanned expenses.

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