Employees in the U.S. are split three ways on what is the most complicated aspect of making annual benefit elections, according to a new Paychex, Inc. survey.
Twenty-nine percent say it’s keeping up with plan changes; 28 percent say it’s trying to predict personal and family needs; and 28 percent say it’s evaluating all of the providers and plan options. For women, trying to predict personal and family needs when making benefits selections is the No. 1 most complicated aspect of the process at 33 percent. That ranks third for men at 24 percent.
Because there are very strict rules around benefits elections, it is crucial that employees take some time to research their choices and seek help if needed. Yet this is something they typically don’t do. According to the 2018 Aflac Workplace Benefits Survey, 40 percent of employees would rather be subjected to some form of discomfort, like doing three hours of hot yoga or cleaning up dog poop, than research their insurance benefits during open enrollment. Aflac also found more than half of employees spend less than half an hour researching their benefits options.
In the Paychex survey, 757 full-time employees working in companies with 1,000 workers or fewer across the country were asked about workplace hot topics, including benefits, retirement preparation, HR technology, and more to determine how these HR trends are impacting them and how their workplace expectations are evolving.
“As businesses shift into the future of work, it’s as important as ever to understand employees’ workplace expectations, challenges, and requirements,” said Maureen Lally, Paychex vice president of marketing. “While employers can implement changes from the top, employees ultimately define what the American workplace looks like. Their habits, preferences, and behaviors are what shape company culture.”
Retirement
When it comes to retirement prep, more than half (51 percent) of employees surveyed feel “very confident” in their retirement savings, but 25 percent of those add the caveat that their confidence is dependent on Social Security remaining intact. This confidence increases as employees get older: 48 percent of workers age 18-34 are confident in their retirement savings, 51 percent ages 35-49, and 58 percent of those 50-65.
HR Technology
Seventy-one percent of employees agree that they expect employers to provide them with a high level of employee self-service that allows them to accomplish various HR tasks (update address, enter life event, fill out tax forms, report hours, manage retirement, etc.) on their own. And 85 percent expect such self-service applications to provide a simple, intuitive user experience, similar to the consumer apps frequently used in their personal lives.
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
