Survey: More than 8 in 10 employees more likely to work for a company that offers supplemental benefits

Voya’s latest research reveals employee attitudes and decision-making behaviors related to voluntary benefit options — and actionable enrollment insights for employers.

According to a 2024 Voya Health and Benefits survey, 83% of employees are more likely to work for an employer that offers critical illness,* hospital confinement indemnity, disability income or accident insurance.¹ And almost three-quarters (74%) agreed they wish their employer offered more voluntary benefit options.¹

What is driving these statistics? More employees are recognizing the value of voluntary benefits — which can help enhance the customization and personalization of their benefits plans to their specific needs and wants, increasingly important in today’s multigenerational workforce.

The survey further found that nine in 10 employees agree voluntary benefits can:¹

• Help protect their assets and loved ones in case of an unexpected (i.e., “covered”) event (95%)
• Offer a way to customize coverage to better meet their/family needs (90%)
• Help manage out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by their core medical plan (90%)

Among younger employees (Gen Z, millennials), those in lower income households (<$75K) and women, supplemental health insurance like critical illness, accident, hospital indemnity, supplemental short-term disability (STD)/long-term disability (LTD), and supplemental life insurance are generally considered more important.¹

Exploring open enrollment perceptions, especially around supplemental benefits, additional 2024 Voya research reveals that rising health care costs is another factor fueling interest in voluntary benefits: A majority of employees (84%) are very or somewhat worried about increasing health care costs.² In fact, additional Voya consumer research reveals more than half of employed Americans strongly or somewhat agree they would take a lower salary for better access to voluntary benefit offerings such as critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability income and accident insurance (54%).³

Now, let’s take a deeper dive into why employees believe supplemental benefits are important, the types of resources they seek (and when) to make informed benefits decisions — plus enrollment insights employers can use and which are intended to help boost utilization of the voluntary benefits they offer employees.

What supplemental benefits do employees most want?

Core employee benefit options including retirement savings plans, group insurance, supplemental STD/LTD and mental health services are considered most important for employers to offer employees — followed by income protection, supplemental insurance options, employee resources (e.g., EAP, mental health resources) and non-core employee benefits (e.g., financial wellness, emergency savings, flex work arrangement, caregiver support).¹

Importance for employer to offer¹
% extremely/somewhat important

• Employer-sponsored retirement savings plan (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.): 98%
• Basic company provided insurance (e.g., life, AD&D, disability, etc.): 92%
• Supplemental STD/LTD disability income insurance: 88%
• Employee benefits that cover mental health services/support: 87%

Most employees are currently enrolled in at least one supplemental benefit, with group life insurance being the most popular (70%).² However, 50% report they have never enrolled in hospital indemnity insurance.² Those enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) vs. a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan are more likely to be taking advantage of voluntary benefit options/coverage (98% vs. 79%, respectively) and want their employer to offer more voluntary options (91% vs. 72%, respectively).¹

Importance of supplemental benefits:²
% very/somewhat important

• Accident insurance: 88%
• Disability income insurance (STD/LTD): 86%
• Critical illness insurance: 84%
• Group life insurance: 82%
• Hospital indemnity insurance: 76%

Based on the survey, most employees recognize supplemental benefits** can potentially help them protect their savings and stay on track for retirement in these three ways:²

1. Covering unexpected medical expenses: They may not need to dip into their savings or retirement fund for large/unexpected expenses, so these accounts can continue growing.
2. Protecting their income: They may not need to access their savings to cover living expenses and can potentially continue contributing to their retirement accounts even if they’re not working.
3. Increasing investment confidence: Knowing they may not need to reach into their retirement accounts prematurely, employees may feel more secure with opportunities for investing.***

However, a few are unsure how supplemental benefits can potentially help protect their retirement savings. They still predict that they will have to pay for future health care costs out of their own pocket.²

Benefits decisions and employee communication preferences

Employees who are enrolled in supplemental health benefits (e.g., critical illness, accident, hospital indemnity insurance, etc.) are likely to use a combination of materials to make employee benefit decisions including insurance/plan provider materials, seminars/webinars, coaching and online tools.

Importance of tools/resources to help make employee benefits decisions¹
% extremely/somewhat important

• Educational material from your insurance carrier/provider (e.g., website, mobile app): 89%
• An online tool that calculates different premiums, coverage and contribution amounts: 89%
• A guided, interactive support tool that provides customized benefit guidance based on information you enter: 84%
• 1:1 benefits coaching from financial advisor or benefits specialists: 78%
• Seminars/webinars (e.g., lunch and learn events): 69%

Email and online/digital resources including the employee benefits portal/enrollment platform and a mobile app are employees’ most preferred ways to learn about employee benefits, followed by the employer intranet site and in-person meetings to a lesser degree.

Employees preferences to receive/access information to learn about employee benefits:¹

1. Email: 22%
2. Online employee benefits portal/enrollment platform: 21%
3. Mobile app: 20%

Information employees want — and why some aren’t enrolling

Employees are overwhelmed by the number of benefit options during open enrollment and often do further research to strengthen their understanding. They mainly seek information from their employer and benefits providers on plan coverage and out-of-pocket costs.

When deciding which benefits to enroll in, employees consider overall plan costs, coverage specifics, and unexpected events. They consider how much they may need to pay out-of-pocket (e.g., premiums), what is offered under each benefit, and which benefits would be beneficial to have in the case of unexpected events (e.g., change in health) to choose the benefits that are the most relevant.²

While employees have familiarity and a basic understanding of supplemental benefits, they struggle to articulate the specifics of these benefits, especially with hospital confinement indemnity insurance and group life insurance. 

Resources (e.g., benefits advisor, interactive online tools) breaking down the following benefits on a more in-depth level would be useful:²

• Detailed out-of-pocket costs (e.g., deductibles, monthly premiums).
• How and when certain benefits can be used with examples (e.g., when to get critical illness vs. accident insurance, why to enroll in spending and savings accounts)

These would better help employees decide which benefits fit their specific situation (e.g., age, life stage, health status) and needs, and if they are worth the cost.

Most employees understand how supplemental insurance benefits can be used for out-of-pocket costs when they experience a covered event, minimizing the financial impact of that event and potentially helping them stay on track for retirement. They know that supplemental health benefits can be used toward out-of-pocket health care expenses after a covered illness or hospitalization — or replace a portion of income so they don’t have to take a retirement savings hardship withdrawal when they can’t work due to sickness or injury.

Those that have not enrolled in certain benefits did not do so because:²

1. They are not offered by their employer,
2. They feel they are too expensive, and/or
3. They feel they have no use for it (e.g., not relevant at their current life stage, overlaps another insurance product they have).

Only a handful of employees have filed claims for their supplemental benefits (20%), but those who have find the experience easy.² The ease of filing a claim and the perception on how fast it will be paid out is also an important consideration when deciding whether to enroll in a benefit.

Desire for more personalization — and when they want education

Overall, employees believe their employer and benefits providers are about equally helpful in providing relevant and comprehensive information on their benefits offerings in different formats (e.g., pamphlets, website, meetings), but more personalized guidance would be even more useful. More personalized information that considers their situation and needs would help employees feel less overwhelmed by their plan options and help them better determine which benefits are most relevant.

However, there is also interest in continuing to learn about these options throughout the year and during open enrollment — so there’s time to review and compare benefits and evaluate specific plans in more detail.

Preference for when to learn about benefits options:²

• Right before open enrollment: 86%
• During enrollment: 40%
• Throughout the year: 32%
• At the beginning of the year: 20%

They will review materials from their employer and benefits provider first, then dive deeper if they have specific questions — and are interested in receiving more personalized guidance on their benefits options right before open enrollment. Employees feel their employer’s benefits portal and HR department are most important when deciding which benefits to enroll in:

Most important tools/resources for decision making:²

• Online employee benefits portal/enrollment platform: 52%
• Human resources/Employee Benefits department: 40%

Conclusion

Personalized benefits communications are becoming a need-to-have in order to address the unique needs of five generations that comprise today’s workforce. Employers have an opportunity to modify their voluntary/supplemental health benefits enrollment strategy around their specific employee populations. By providing the right education in the right format at the right time, they can better address the key barriers employees say are preventing them from enrolling in supplemental benefits — and potentially impact benefits decisions and increase enrollment.

Interested in learning more about our Supplemental Health Insurance, Disability Income Insurance and Group Life Insurance solutions? Contact your Voya representative today.

This material is not legal advice and is provided for informational purposes only.