KFC Is Now Offering This Financial Perk To Employees
KFC is helping its employees secure their finances with a new initiative co-directed by fintech company SaverLife. The fried chicken chain has launched a charitable program called MyChange, which it hopes will help KFC employees build emergency savings funds and develop long-term saving habits.
MyChange with SaverLife is open to all KFC employees, corporate and franchise alike, and offers access to SaverLife's digital platform. According to the company's site, SaverLife is a California-based nonprofit which seeks to promote long and short-term savings among Americans struggling with financial security. In the MyChange initiative, KFC employees will have the opportunity to open a savings account with SaverLife, and to access the site's library of financial literacy materials. As part of a concurrent charitable program, the Savings Match Challenge, KFC has pledged to match all employees' monthly payments into SaverLife savings accounts — dollar for dollar at a maximum of $40 per month for up to six months. The company hopes the initiatives will help employees establish and maintain short-term emergency funds. It also hopes to promote practices of financial wellbeing among KFC employees, including long-term saving.
Rainy day funds and beyond
As outlined in a press release received by Mashed, KFC's recent charitable initiatives are based on privately and publicly funded research into the relationship between financial health and access to short-term savings. According to a 2019 report by the Federal Reserve Bank, over a third of all Americans do not or cannot maintain adequate emergency funds, and would have to take on debt to cover an emergency expense of $400. (According to Indeed, KFC employees make a range from about $7 to $17 an hour). Emergency funds are indispensable for all Americans, not just as a safeguard against financial emergencies, but as a predictor of long-term financial success. Recent research from SaverLife, cited in the KFC press release, has shown that access to emergency funds is positively correlated with other aspects of financial wellbeing, including security from high-interest loans, and the ability to pay rent. By giving its employees a hand setting up emergency funds, KFC is helping them invest in both their short and long-term financial health.
KFC's charitable initiatives are also a direct investment in KFC itself, according to the brand. As Justin Stewart, Chair of the KFC Foundation, observed in the recent press release: "Programs like MyChange with SaverLife help [KFC] develop the financial acumen of [its] team members, setting them up for success in their future, while also strengthening [KFC's] organization from the ground up."