Financial wellness has become a core theme in credit union strategy. Members are not just looking for a place to store their money. They are looking for guidance, education, and support that helps them navigate inflation, debt, and long term planning.
That need is not imagined. Our survey with 1,000 banking consumers revealed that 85% of consumers are experiencing at least one financial stressor.
If you lead member experience or financial wellness at a credit union, you are probably feeling that tension. You know members need help, but you need proof and direction before you invest in new programs or tools.
That is where structured financial wellness surveys give you an advantage.
In credit union market research, the goal is not just to ask if members are “satisfied.”
You want a clear view of their day to day stressors, their long term goals, and how they truly see your role in their financial life. Financial wellness surveys are built to do exactly that.
In our work with credit unions, we often use these surveys to:
Because money is such a personal and emotional topic, trust is everything. A well designed financial wellness survey creates a direct, low pressure way for members to share what they are struggling with.
In turn, your teams get data that makes it easier to respond with empathy and precision, rather than guesswork.
A simple example.
One credit union we worked with assumed members mainly needed help with retirement planning. The survey revealed that younger members were far more concerned about building an emergency fund and understanding their credit score. The credit union shifted its content, workshops, and in-app tools accordingly and saw higher engagement with those programs than with their legacy retirement seminars.
When we design financial wellness surveys for credit unions, the goal is to capture a full picture of members’ financial health and confidence. That usually includes several core themes.
We start by asking how secure members feel today and how hopeful they feel about the future.
This often includes questions about:
These questions help you understand whether members feel in control or constantly on the edge.
Debt is one of the biggest drivers of financial stress. In fact, our State of Banking Report reveals 1 in 5 people are currently stressed about not being able to pay off debt and/or accumulating more debt.
Here we explore:
This is where opportunities often appear for consolidation products, counseling, or more proactive outreach from your team.
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Next, we look at how members are preparing for the unexpected and the future.
For example:
Responses here can point directly to gaps your credit union can fill through new products, auto savings tools, or education campaigns.
Even if members have access to good products, they might not feel confident using them.
To understand this side of wellness, we ask about:
Finally, we connect financial wellness back to your brand.
Typical topics include:
These questions make it easier to prioritize investments that directly improve perceived value and loyalty.
All of these topics can be measured quantitatively, qualitatively, or a blend of both. When we partner with credit unions on financial wellness research, we help determine which types of scales, open ends, and follow up questions will provide the clearest, most actionable story.
Turning topics into survey questions is where you move from ideas to real insight.
Here are examples of the types of questions we often include in financial wellness surveys for credit unions. You can adapt the wording to match your brand voice and member base.
General Financial
Savings
Debt & Credit Management
Day-to-Day
Financial Literacy
Credit Union Relationship
Questions like these generate both quantitative data (ratings and scales) and qualitative insight (open ended responses). Together, they help your teams make decisions that are truly centered on members, rather than assumptions.
Even the best designed online survey will not help if only a small, narrow slice of members respond. A big part of financial wellness research success is getting enough participation and the right mix of respondents.
Members are far more likely to respond when they understand why their input matters.
In invitation emails, website banners, or in branch posters, spell out how their feedback will be used.
For example, you might explain that responses will guide new financial coaching services, improve digital tools, or shape future loan and savings options.
In our experience, when credit unions make that connection explicit, completion rates improve and open ended comments become more thoughtful. Members want to feel heard.
Surveys should be easy to access wherever members already interact with you.
Common approaches include:
A multi channel approach reduces bias and ensures you are not only hearing from members who prefer one specific channel.
The goal is for the sample to reflect your membership as a whole, including age groups, income levels, and engagement patterns.
Incentives can give participation a helpful boost. Many of our market research studies use:
The key is to keep incentives simple and clearly explained. When designed well, incentives thank members for their time without distorting who responds.
Financial wellness is a sensitive topic. Members are understandably cautious about sharing details, especially if they worry their responses will be tied to their accounts.
Make it clear that survey responses are anonymous or confidential, and explain this in plain language.
When we conduct credit union member surveys, we also note that an independent third party is managing the research. This alone often encourages more candid and detailed feedback.
You can even test this. Credit unions that explicitly highlight anonymity and data protection usually see more honest comments about debt, missed payments, or financial stress than those that do not.
If your credit union is exploring a financial wellness initiative, a well-structured member survey is one of the most useful places to start.
Drive Research specializes in custom financial wellness studies for credit unions, from survey design and programming to fieldwork, analysis, and reporting.
If you would like to explore what a financial wellness survey could look like for your membership, our team is happy to talk through timelines, pricing, and sample design.
