Amid the stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one bright spot that stands out is that workers are largely satisfied with their employer-provided health and retirement benefits, according to the results of EBRI’s inaugural Workplace Wellness Study.
The study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research finds that two in three employees feel stressed when thinking about their financial future. And nearly half of employees are concerned with their household’s financial wellbeing, citing saving for retirement and emergencies as top sources of financial stress.
In view of those findings, health and retirement benefits were found to contribute most to employees’ feelings of financial security, even more so than in 2018, according to the study. More than half (55%) of respondents say their retirement plan “contributes a lot” to feeling financially secure, while nearly two-thirds say their health insurance contributes a lot to their security.
Majorities also indicate they are satisfied with the retirement and health benefits they have now, and do not want to trade their benefits with their wages. Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) employees participating in retirement savings plan are “very or extremely satisfied” with their current retirement benefits, while 54% of employees expressed satisfaction with their current health insurance plan. Only 8% said they were not too satisfied or not at all satisfied with their current retirement benefits.
“Health insurance remains the benefit employees are most likely to consider when making employment decisions, followed by retirement savings plans, and these benefits play a critical role in employees’ feelings of financial security,” notes Paul Fronstin, Director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program.
While some were concerned that the pandemic and subsequent financial downturn could lead to employers decreasing or eliminating health care and other benefits, that fear has largely remained unrealized. “Although we’ve heard anecdotal reports that some have terminated benefits coverage for part-time and seasonal workers, employers have largely stayed the course on benefits offered to full-time employees,” Fronstin notes.
Mixed Reviews on Effort
“Seven in 10 employees believe employees need their employer’s help to be healthy and financially secure, and nearly as many feel the employer has a responsibility to ensure the health and financial security of employees,” notes Lisa Greenwald, CEO of Greenwald Research.
But since the pandemic began, just under 3 in 10 (28%) feel their employer’s efforts to improve their overall well-being has increased, while 61% say it stayed the same. That said, employees rate their employers’ efforts positively, with 48% saying their employer has done an “excellent or very good job” helping them improve their physical wellbeing, and 42% say the same about their emotional and financial wellbeing.
Not surprisingly, the survey also finds that furloughed workers who maintain access to at least one of their employee benefits are less likely to be satisfied with their primary job and employee benefits than other workers. They are also less likely to feel confident in their ability to make informed decisions about their employee benefits.
Open Enrollment During COVID-19
With the upcoming open enrollment, the researchers also set out to understand how things might be different this year, given the global pandemic.
According to the findings, employees are confident in their ability to make informed decisions about employee benefits, with two in three stating they are very or extremely confident. In addition, more than 6 in 10 employees find their non-health benefits easy to understand. Similarly, more than half want the same amount of information and guidance during open enrollment, but nearly 4 out of 10 would like more.
“About half of employees feel their employer has done an excellent or very good job communicating about online benefits resources during COVID, which is important as we go into open enrollment season this year,” notes Greenwald. “However, given the pandemic, 37% would like more information and guidance during open enrollment than they usually get.” To that end, the study notes that furloughed workers are more likely to want more information or guidance—58% vs. 37% for employed workers.
When asked how they would like their employers to communicate and provide information in the upcoming enrollment, employees are most interested in an online portal for selecting benefits (36%), an online tool that helps employees make decisions about benefits (35%) and online brochures (32%).
What’s more, just under half of employees say they would welcome advice, either from a third-party benefits advisor or from an online program. Greenwald notes that 9 in 10 employees surveyed report that they would be likely to use a free online program offering benefit advice, including nearly half who are very or extremely likely.
The study also shows 3 out of 10 employees would prefer benefits advice from an online tool, one in four favor it coming from a benefits advisor, and more than one-third are okay with either.
The 2020 survey of 1,028 American workers age 21-64 was conducted online July 13-Aug. 6, 2020. This report focuses on those currently employed, with significant differences for furloughed workers called out, including 900 who are currently employed full or part-time in their primary job, and 128 who are currently furloughed from their primary job, but still have access to their employee benefits.
