With the Affordable Care Act nearly at full sail , employees have more questions than ever about choices and options . In 2013 only 33 % of employees who were asked to review benefits in the prior year rated the benefits education they received as excellent or very good , a drop from 37 % in 2013 , and a reversal in the upward trend that began in 2009 . With the rising costs of traditional health benefit plans , more employers
|
Bill Dalicandro , Vice President of Unum ’ s
Consumers Solution Group . “ Employees are making decisions about their benefits that they have never had to make before . It is vital for employers to provide the right tools and information for employees so they can understand their benefit options and choose the coverage that is right for them .”
When given the information they need to make informed decisions about their benefits , employees tend to rate their benefits higher . Among the
|
||
|
than ever are offering Voluntary or “ Worksite ” benefits . Communicating the benefits of these programs is essential to their success .
The online survey of working adults , conducted
|
“ The Affordable Care Act is raising lots of questions and leading to changes that extend beyond health coverage ” |
70 % of employees whose company offered long and short term disability insurance , 83 % rated their benefits education positively .
The Harris Pole
|
|
|
by Harris on behalf of Unum in December 2013 , finds that 74 % of the employees surveyed reported understanding life insurance somewhat or very well and 71 % reported the same level of understanding of vision insurance . Yet understanding other benefits lags behind .
• Only 40 % of employees understand supplemental medical coverage somewhat or very well .
• 47 % report they understand critical illness insurance somewhat or very well .
• Nearly half ( 48 %) whose employers offered short and long term disability said no one explained disability insurance to them while 66 % of all employees surveyed agreed that their employer should do a better job educating employees about these important benefits .
“ The Affordable Care Act is raising lots of questions and leading to changes that extend beyond health coverage ” explains
|
research also shows just how big an impact a good benefits education program has on workplace satisfaction . In this most recent study ,
79 % of workers who reviewed benefits in the past year and rated their benefits education as excellent or very good also rated their employer as excellent or very good , compared to only
30 % of those who said the education portion of their Open Enrollment was fair or poor .
“ Offering employees effective benefits education can contribute to satisfaction with their employer ,” Dalicandro said . “ Even if employees don ’ t have a particularly rich benefits package , those who say they received quality education about the benefits they are offered are far more likely to consider their employer as a good place to work .”
With Open enrollment upon us , now more than ever is a great time to educate your employees about their options for 2015 . If you have any questions about Open Enrollment , The
Affordable Care Act or other benefits related questions , please feel free to touch base with our office .
|
||