Survey Says: Employees Love Voluntary Benefits

Employee participation rates in voluntary benefits rose across the nation’s four major regions in the 2017 benefit year as more employers offer high-deductible health plans (HDHP), an analysis of benefits enrollment data found.

Voluntary benefit participation rates rose by 567 percent in the Midwest, 208 percent in the South, 138 percent in the West and 59 percent in the Northeast, compared with the 2016 benefit year, according to the State of Employee Benefits 2017 Regional Edition.

The report is compiled from enrollment data from 504 large employers with more than 1,000 full-time employees on the Benefitfocus benefits management platform.

“As a region, the Midwest is catching up a bit, so you see higher percentage increases,” said Shan Fowler, senior director of product strategy with Benefitfocus.

Traditional manufacturing companies based in the Midwest – automakers, for example – who shoulder a greater portion of the costs of benefits have been slower than companies headquartered in other parts of the country to offer HDHPs.

HDHPs raise deductibles in exchange for lower premiums and voluntary benefits play a role in offsetting those higher deductibles.

Factors that affect whether employees elect voluntary benefits include an employer’s core medical offerings, the cost of coverage, the industry in which participants are employed, and the list of benefits available for purchase on a voluntary basis.

The list can include life, dental, vision, critical illness, short-term disability and long-term care.

Voluntary Sales Rise 7 Percent in 2016

Voluntary benefits are paid for 100 percent by the employee through a payroll deduction. The benefits are offered in addition to shared benefits for which the employer and the employee contribute toward the premium.

Employers find offering voluntary benefits attractive since employers don’t contribute to premiums and voluntary coverage.

Employees like the benefits as they allow workers to supplement coverage they already have, and are eligible to buy the coverage through group rates.

As more companies shift the cost-of-insurance burden onto employees, supplementing basic employer-employee shared coverage with employee-paid voluntary coverage has become more popular.

Voluntary/worksite sales in 2016 rose 7 percent to $7.63 billion, according to Eastbridge Consulting, a voluntary market tracking firm.

The increase is the highest since 2007, the company said.

In-force premium rose 5 percent to $41 billion in 2016 over 2015, Eastbridge added.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Writer Cyril Tuohy has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at cyril.tuohy@innfeedback.com.

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Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at cyril.tuohy@innfeedback.com.