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What’s the Top Benefit Priority?

A new survey finds that demographic shifts (yes, Millennials) and employee expectations (gig, anyone?) are redefining the workplace – and benefit priorities for plan sponsors. Guess what hasn’t changed?

Asked to rank their top benefits priorities, more employers (83%) chose retaining employees as an important benefits objective than:


  • increasing employee productivity (80%); or

  • controlling health and welfare benefit costs (79%).


And more than half (51%) of employers say that retaining employees through benefits will become even more important in the next 3 to 5 years.

Gig ‘Dig’?

However, from the employee perspective, MetLife’s 15th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study found that the gig economy is posing a real threat to employers, with more than half (51%) of employees saying they are interested in contract or freelance work for more flexible hours, the ability to work from home, and project variety, as opposed to a full-time salaried job that may not offer such perks.

Freelance work appeals to Millennials most, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of the generation interested, followed by Gen Xers (52%) and Boomers (41%).

Not that plan sponsors are unaware of the trend; employers agree that the gig economy is affecting the workplace: nearly 6 in 10 (59%) say the increase of temporary jobs will impact the workplace in the next 3 to 5 years.

Which, according to the survey’s authors, may be why retention is the top priority among employers.

Custom Eyed

It’s also likely driving another trend: benefit customization. Nearly three-fourths (74 %) of employees say that having benefits customized to meet their needs is important when considering taking a new job, and nearly as many (72%) say that having the ability to customize their benefits would increase their loyalty to their current employer. Over three-fourths (76%) of Millennials say benefits customization is important for increasing their loyalty to their employers, compared to two-thirds (67%) of Boomers.

Of course, benefits customization can be meaningless if the benefits aren’t up to snuff. Little wonder that nearly two-thirds (59%) of employees say that health and wellness benefits are important for increasing loyalty to their employer, and 53% say the same about financial planning/wellness programs.

On the other hand, only a third of employers (33%) say they are very likely to offer wellness benefits and just 18% currently offer financial planning programs – even though a third (36%) of employers say wellness benefits and financial planning programs are valuable to their employees.

MetLife’s 15th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study was conducted from October 2016 through November 2016, and consisted of two distinct studies fielded by ORC International. The employer survey comprised 2,504 interviews with benefits decision makers at companies with at least two employees. The employee survey comprised 2,652 interviews with full-time employees, ages 21 and over, at companies with at least two employees.

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