January sets the tone for your organization’s entire financial wellness strategy.

It’s when HR and benefits teams are asking big-picture questions like:

• What actually worked last year?
• Where are employees still struggling financially?
• And how do we make smarter, more intentional investments in wellbeing this year?

Before you roll into tactical programming or new initiatives, January is your moment to pause, assess, and plan. Think of it as the strategy-setting month, laying the foundation that everything else in your financial wellness calendar builds on.

To help you do exactly that, we’ve curated resources designed to help you evaluate where you are today and set a clear, confident direction for the year ahead.

What January Is All About

In January, the focus is on:

• Reviewing last year’s financial wellness metrics and engagement
• Assessing employee needs and current program maturity
• Establishing goals, budgets, and priorities for the year ahead

This is not the month for perfection. It’s the month for clarity.

The stronger your January foundation, the more effective, and measurable your financial wellness efforts will be throughout the year.

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January Resources to Support Your Strategy

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Financial Wellness Audit Quiz

Before you can improve anything, you need to know where you stand. This quick financial wellness audit helps you evaluate your organization’s current financial wellness maturity and identify the biggest opportunities to focus your 2026 strategy.

Think of it as your financial wellness “baseline.”

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How Do I Use Wellness Dollars?

Wellness budgets are valuable, but only if they’re used intentionally. This resource walks through how to maximize your wellness dollars and allocate funding toward financial wellbeing initiatives that actually move the needle for employees.

January is the perfect time to align spending with strategy (and avoid reactive decisions later in the year).

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Bots & Benefits: How AI Will Transform Employee Wellness Forever

AI isn’t coming to benefits, it’s already here. This resource explores how AI is reshaping benefits education, personalization, and employee engagement, and what that means for the future of financial wellness programs. If January is about planning ahead, this is about planning smart.

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2026 Employee Benefits & Wellbeing Trends Playbook

Want the big picture? This playbook connects the dots between money, mental health, physical wellbeing, culture, and performance, giving HR leaders a forward-looking view of what’s shaping employee wellbeing now and next.

It’s a strategic lens that helps ensure your financial wellness efforts don’t live in a silo.

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How This Fits Into Your Year

January is just the starting point. Each month in our 2026 Financial Wellness Calendar is intentionally designed for Benefits Managers to build on the last, moving from assessment and strategy to personalization, and long-term behavior change.

To make planning easier, you can download and use it as a practical roadmap for the year ahead. It includes monthly focus areas, strategic guidance for HR and benefits teams, and a flexible framework you can adapt to your workforce.

January is where it starts. The calendar helps you keep the momentum going all year. 

Download the full Financial Wellness Calendar to plan your year with confidence.