Many older employees have delayed retirement in response to investment losses during the prolonged soft economy, motivating some employers to explore more comprehensive financial education resources.

Until recently, most defined contribution plan sponsors' efforts to prepare plan participants for retirement were designed mainly to improve employees' financial literacy and investment skills. But according to a survey released in September by New York-based Towers Watson & Co., educational programs focused narrowly on employees' management of their defined contribution plan accounts have had little effect on changing workers' decisions to delay retirement (see chart).

To address the issue on a more holistic level, experts say as many as 25% of employers today are broadening their financial education programs and resources under the heading of financial wellness programs, which can include home budgeting, mortgage lending, debt and loans, spending plans, long-term health care, estate planning and other financial issues.

“Financial wellness is really the overall concept of helping employees make better financial decisions, which allows them to feel less stressed, which leads to a more productive and loyal workforce,” said Ellen Blumstein, assistant vice president at MetLife Inc. “Underneath that, retirement readiness is a very big component of that concept and ... covers the whole spectrum of employment, from new hires all the way through preretirement and retirement.”

While employers face reduced productivity, higher medical care costs and jobsite safety issues (see related story) due to older workers staying on the job longer, Andrew Rosenkranz, managing director of Renton, Washington-based Pacific Market Research Inc., said the company's offer of basic financial literacy and counseling services to its more than 300 call center workers beginning in 2013 was done primarily to be a good corporate citizen.

“We knew then that we were paying to educate people who may or may not be with us even a year from now,” Mr. Rosenkranz said. “I think we just did it because we felt like the employees needed it. So we looked at what can we do that's useful with the limited resources that we do have.”

Employers and their benefit service providers looking to implement comprehensive financial wellness programs can look to their health care counterparts for examples, experts said.

“When we looked at alternative approaches to how we do our job as consultants and advisers, we really looked at the health and wellness side of the equation and decided we needed to parallel what's going on in that space,” said Kent Allison, a New York-based partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P.

“Employers that appear to be ahead of the curve have probably already integrated financial wellness into overall employee wellness programs to make what you could call a total wellness program,” Mr. Allison said. “A lot of other employers have done a good job of mirroring what they're doing on the physical wellness side, but haven't necessarily integrated the two efforts.”

One core element that experts say must be incorporated into a successful financial wellness strategy is a suite of programs and resources to motivate employees to change their behavior regarding finances.

“Moving the needle on retirement readiness is really about behavior change, and that only happens with time,” Ms. Blumstein said. “It's the kind of thing that needs to continue over time, and should always have a place in front of employees so you can continue to build awareness.”

Another widely accepted workplace wellness best practice that experts said should be incorporated into a financial wellness strategy is employee surveys and needs assessments to tailor financial wellness programs and resources to the needs and preferences of a specific group of employees.

“I think the companies that do those advance assessments are probably also the ones that understand the need for these kinds of resources and are dedicated to providing them,” said Julie Stich, director of research at the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

While most employers use financial incentives in workplace wellness programs, few do so in their financial wellness efforts. However, experts say, that could easily change as more benefits brokers and consultants develop ways for employers to increase their contributions to employees' defined contribution plan accounts.

“It's a mechanism very similar to what you see on the health management and wellness programs, where employers are rewarding certain behaviors with discounts on their health insurance premiums,” said Ted Goldman, North American practice leader at New York-based Buck Consultants at Xerox. “We've come up with a way to apply the same logic to the savings plan, where if you exhibit certain financial wellness behaviors, you'll be rewarded with extra contributions in your 401(k) plan.”

It's “something we think could move the needle in terms of making it easier for people to make these changes in their day-to-day lives,” he said.