Study shows 35% of workers don’t understand their benefits

Some Benefits pros and their firms need to do a better job of educating employees on their benefits.

Reason: “Thirty-five percent of employed individuals report not fully understanding any of the employee benefits they enrolled in during their most recent open enrollment period,” according to a new survey by Voya Financial. And the number jumps to 54% among millennials.

But don’t fret. The survey also revealed 66% of employees and 78% of millennials will be turning to you in 2021 – and not just during open enrollment – for eduction, support and guidance on benefit offerings.

Spotlight financial wellbeing

One major focus for Benefits pros should be helping employees with their financial wellbeing.

Seventy-three percent of the respondents said they want “support and guidance tools” to give them a better understanding of what they need to save for retirement, emergency savings and healthcare expenses.

“Supplemental health benefits like accident insurance, hospital indemnity insurance and critical illness insurance can be confusing – especially for younger workers, who might have enrolled in these coverages for the first time due to the pandemic,” said Andrew Frend, SVP of product and strategy, Voya employee benefits.

Make it simple

While you may give employees tons of info on the benefits you offer, who wants to read it all or has the time?

Simplify the info you offer – workers don’t need to know everything, just what’s needed to understand if they need this benefit. Then provide additional info links for a deeper delve.

Also, make it easy to understand. Take out the HR/Benefits jargon, and make sure it’s in plain English.

Finally, create engaging education programs that provide year-round benefits education. Frend says they’ve helped their employees understand and maximize their workplace benefits by offering innovative digital tools.

Info: Voya Survey Finds One-Third of American Workers Don’t Understand the Benefits They Selected During Open Enrollment; Voya finds employees still don’t understand their benefits