The Complete Financial Lives of Workers: A Holistic Exploration of Work and Public and Workplace Benefit Arrangements

Nearly half of the workforce earns wages that cannot cover a family’s basic needs. Over the past four decades, we’ve seen wages stagnate for low- and middle-wage earners – particularly Latinx and Black workers, increasing the racial wage gap. While it is clear that employment alone does not ensure financial security today, workers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic show the potential for truly inclusive benefits, payments, and financial systems to be enormously powerful foundations of economic stability, resilience, and security for households and the nation.