PLANSPONSOR - December 2017/January 2018 - 40

TOTAL BENEFITS
not be. " These plans are meant to address
the total risk that one could be exposed to, "
Weber says.
The second category relates to helping
participants reduce any financial stress or
improve their financial health. Weber says,
" Often the question I hear from employers
is: 'We've helped employees with the risk
they know about related to their core benefits,
but now can you help us help them
with their financial risks?'
Offering employees convenience and
discounts is appreciated. " We have a whole
bunch of benefits that help put cash back
in employees' pockets or that give them a
chance to reduce their expenses, " Weber
says. " Our group auto/home coverage
is one example. It's the same concept:
Employers are using scale with auto
insurance companies; the premiums are
payroll deducted, so there is a reduction
in administrative costs. We see ranges of
savings, from $600 to $800 a year, to buy
group auto coverage through an employer
versus buying individually. That's the
type of benefit that is moving to the top
of the lists as employers are trying to help
employees with their financial stress. "
In the 2017 Alight (formerly Aon
Hewitt) Financial Mindset Study, survey
respondents said, " the extent to which I
believe employers should help me obtain
identity protection services " was 50%.
(See Figure 1.)
Ray Baumruk, employee experience
partner at Alight Solutions in Chicago,
was surprised that an ancillary voluntary
benefit service such as identity protection
would rank higher, for instance, than debt
management. " When we did some qualitative
analysis around this, what most people
said is that identity protection connects to
several things that they would want from
their employer. They are worried about
someone hacking into their retirement
account or their paycheck, and because
this is connected to their employment,
the idea of having some protection overall
from an identity or data standpoint makes
sense. It's connected; it's a close link. "
Who Pays?
According to Weber, in many cases
the price of voluntary benefits is made
affordable by the employer leveraging its
scale in order to pass along employeepaid
discounts. " For instance, an insurance
company will offer a product to an
employer, knowing that it's going to be
presented to a large number of employees.
This allows them to underwrite the risk,
knowing there is potentially a pool of
people buying the product. There are also
cost efficiencies because, in most cases,
the employee pays for the benefit via
payroll deductions. The insurance companies
do not have to collect a premium from
each individual-they get the premiums
at one time from the employer. "
However, there is a new trend in
the financing of voluntary benefits.
Traditionally, employees have paid for
the premiums of these plans. But, says
Garber, with the benefits' growing importance
for improving employee well-being
and reducing employee turnover, more
employers are funding the cost of these
plans themselves.
The 2016 Mercer National Survey
of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
reports, for example, that within the
health care industry, 74% of employers
offer voluntary benefits at no cost to their
employees. (See Figure 2.)
How to Educate Employees
Offering the benefits is not enough,
however, sources say. Presentation is key.
Employees need to understand the offerings
so they can make informed decisions.
Clear, concise and consistent
communications are necessary, observes
Garber. People learn and take in information
in different ways, so it is important
that employers communicate information
about the benefit offerings multiple
times, via multiple strategies, she stresses.
" We offer our clients several solutions-
including on-site support, online materials,
email blasts, videos and flyers-and
they choose the ones that appeal best to
their workplace culture. Given this, we
40 PLANSPONSOR.com December 2017-January 2018
hope that employees view this information
in different formats and [that we] present it
to them in a way they are receptive to. "
At Hub International, she continues,
" we typically provide an overview of what
the plan is and give some scenarios in
which it might be beneficial; then we
provide a claims example so employees
can see how it works. From there, they have
enough information to make an educated
decision on whether it's a good fit for them
and their family. "
At Mercer, Weber says, leveraging
the overall benefits platform is critical.
With almost every employer using enrollment
technology for their core benefits,
" we found that adding the voluntary benefits
coverage to that platform really helps
the employee understand the full breadth
of the coverages available. " Another
finding was that an integrated enrollment
site improves employees' experience and
increases the value of voluntary benefits
offerings to them. " Consider moving
HSAs [health savings accounts] and
FSAs [flexible spending accounts] after
medical, " he says. " Follow with accident
and other supplemental health policies
that employees can use to complement
their medical plan. " -Judy Faust Hartnett
KEY POINTS
* Some voluntary benefits
supplement employer core health
offerings while nontraditional
benefits promote financial
wellness and/or enhance
personalized benefit options.
* Traditionally, employees have
accessed the lower-priced and
guaranteed voluntary benefits
through payroll deductions.
* Providing communications
and education to employees
about voluntary benefits is key,
as is leveraging the overall
benefits platform to help them
understand where voluntary
and core benefits meet.
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