Financial wellness programs are all the rage thesedays.

They were a hot topic during a GAO forum on financial literacyearlier this year, when a group of experts discussed how employersare well-positioned to offer more comprehensive programs to theiremployees.

And it's obvious that employees need help, since they're notconfident about what they're doing. Just 28 percent of respondentsin a recent LIMRA study said they're veryconfident about their own ability to make important financialdecisions, and 72 percent take advantage of workplace programsdesigned to boost their financial acumen about the benefits offeredby their employers.

In fact, a white paper from Alliant Credit Union titled“Financial Wellness in the Workplace 2015” cites a study from theAmerican Psychological Association that found how stressedAmericans are about their finances—stress that follows them intothe workplace.

Seventy percent, it said, “are seriously concerned, if notseriously worried, about their finances.”

So what's the answer?

Perhaps financial wellness programs, since they offer employeesthe opportunity to become better educated on a range of financialtopics that could otherwise be stressing them out and impedingtheir productivity.

Here's a look at the 11 components of financial wellnessprograms that the white paper says employers are now offering.However, only 11 percent of respondents in Alliant's study saidthey are offering their employees all 11 of these strategies.

1. Retirement planning. This isthe most popular option being offered by employers, with 65 percentof respondents in the Alliant study saying it's something theyprovide to their employees.

But retirement planning education programs overall may have away to go in making employees feel they've gotten sufficient helpon the subject. The LIMRA study, which of course looked at adifferent field of respondents, found that just 17 percent saidthey are extremely satisfied with it.

2. Medical/health care cost planningprograms. These are provided by 52 percent ofAlliant respondents. Considering the high cost of medical care,even with health benefit coverage, such programs can mean thedifference between employees successfully managing their financesor failing to be able to meet unexpected expenses because of healthissues.

Most employees barely understand how to use theirhealth savings accounts (HSAs), muchless grasp the complexities and intricacies of contributions,limitations, and investment options.

3. Confidential employee self-assessments of theirfinances. People may know they have financialproblems but be too embarrassed to admit it, or to seek help. Inaddition, they may have no idea where to go if they do need help infiguring out how bad those problems are, or how to solve them.

With 44 percent of employers offering assessments, and more likely on the way, employees may finally get some of thehelp they need in straightening out their money issues.

4. Tracking tools for goalattainment. If there's one thing people like todo these days, it's use online tools to help them do everythingfrom lose weight to maintain an exercise program.

Using tracking tools to help them keep track of financial goalsis just one more way to keep to the straight and narrow, andfinancial wellness programs that help to keep employees heading inthe right direction can affect everything from their productivityto their actual health—something that'ssure to appeal to more than the 41 percent of employers currentlyoffering such tools.

5. Investment planning programs. One would expect these to be pretty commonplace, but only 38percent of employers provide them as part of a financial wellnessprogram.

Considering how popular robo advisors are, it's apparent thatemployees aren't waiting around for such programs to come to them;they're going out and looking for them.

6. Targeted/customized financialeducation. Even if there's an automated optionavailable, people feel better if it's been tailored to their particularcircumstances.

So the 35 percent of employers providing this kind ofspecificity are satisfying a need that their employees may neverhave voiced, but feel nonetheless.

7. Incentives/rewards forparticipation. Everybody loves a reward,especially when it's for doing something they know they should bedoing anyway.

The 34 percent of employers who are capitalizing on this byoffering incentives for employees to get involved with their ownfinancial wellness will no doubt reap their own rewards—far beyondthe value of what they're providing to their employees.

8. Privacy/security/fraud protectionadvice. To realize how important this is, youonly need look at the latest headlines. How to safeguard one'sprivacy and security and protect oneself from fraud is somethingeveryone needs to know in an age of hackers, spammers, andphishermen—but few people are savvy enough to protect themselveswithout at least a little training.

If only 27 percent of employers are providing this kind ofeducation for their employees, the rest ought to consider thebenefits to their firms when employees are more attuned to thepotential for identity theft to impair their healthbenefits or for employees to be aware of such hackerstrategies as spear phishing schemes that target them to gainentree through the employer's security systems.

9. Saving-for-college programs. The high cost of college and the crushing weight of student loandebt amount to a huge burden on employees that employers should beanxious to lift. Programs that help them learn how to save fortheir own, or their kids', college education can lighten thatburden and provide employees with alternatives to raiding theirretirement funds when the tuition bills come in.

The Alliant study said, ”about 37 percent of U.S. householdsheaded by an adult younger than 40 have student loan debt. This isthe highest percentage on record, and the median outstandingstudent loan debt is $13,000.”

10. Managing-debt programs. Twenty-three percent of Alliant's respondents indicated that theyprovide employees with programs on how to manage their debt.

In a financial wellness survey the credit union conducted lastfall, 11 percent of respondents indicated that they needed toimprove how they managed their debt—but considering that manypeople find it hard to admit they're in over their heads,considerably more will no doubt find it helpful to take advantageof such programs.

Particularly since 37 percent say that paying off credit carddebt is one of their top financial goals and 22 percent list as atop goal just staying afloat with debt obligations.

11. Day-to-day financialguidance/budgeting. Twenty-two percent ofemployer respondents say they provide such help to theiremployees.

The others might want to reconsider, since only 6 percent ofemployees “strongly agree that their organization does what'sneeded to help them manage their finances more effectively.”