MetLife Benefits Survey

The MetLife Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study has a bit of an interesting twist, focusing in part on how employees feel about their benefits.  (MetLife Survey)   About 43% of employees say benefits are an important reason why they took their current job and 50% say they play a significant role in staying at that job, both all time highs.  And 40% say they expect their employer to help them achieve financial security through their benefit plans.  High rates of workers express concern about being able to afford health care and a substantial minority say they expect to delay retirement due to financial concerns.  At the same time, 60% said they were willing to bear more of the cost of benefits if they had more choice, and more than 50% said they need more education and help in using benefits effectively.  For employers, the most important consideration in regard to benefit plans continues to be cost control, but they also recognize the loyalty and productivity effects.  About 80% say they will keep or increase their budget for benefit plans, but in regard to health plans, the employers say they will require a more active role from employees in wellness and cost control.  Employees who are very satisfied with their benefits, as would be expected, feel more loyalty to their company and satisfaction and loyalty have increased, but this may actually reflect fears about losing benefits.  Most firms believe that wellness programs will pay off in the long run, increasing productivity as well as lowering health costs, even if they don’t show short-run savings.   In addition to health benefits, employees are very interested in getting more assistance in long-term financial planning.  In general, one would say that employees in the United States are anxious about the stability of their jobs, their health benefits and their long-term financial situation and this may make them more eager to stay in the job they have but they may also have higher expectations for assistance from their companies in meeting their goals.