According to a recent study, the number one concern of today’s employees is having enough money to pay the bills during a period of income loss. Seventy-one percent of full-time employees surveyed in the Metlife Employee Benefits Trend Study said they were “extremely concerned” about the issue. The study also reported that 63% of employees were worried about having enough money to make ends meet, 59% were concerned about having appropriate health insurance and 49% feared they would outlive their retirement savings.
However, despite these weighty concerns, 74% of employees cited paid vacation time as their most valued benefit, taking precedence over life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and employer-funded pension plans. Employees between the ages of 21 and 30 in particular valued sick leave and flexible work schedules over pension plans, life insurance and disability insurance.
Although 49% of employees said they worry about outliving their retirement funds, one-third of those individuals either haven’t started saving for retirement or have yet to establish savings goals. Nearly 70% of all employees surveyed did not have a financial plan in place and only a quarter of full-time employees felt that they were in control of their finances.
“Today’s employees need a financial roadmap to get them back on track,” says Craig Guiffre, senior vice president, Institutional Business, at MetLife. “With employees now responsible for selecting and funding a significant share of their healthcare, retirement and insurance-related benefits, they need more financial education and advice than most are currently receiving.”
Employees did express an eagerness to have their employers assist them with their financial planning. Forty-three percent of employees said they would like their employer to provide them with access to a financial planner that would help them make better decisions regarding their 401(k). In contrast, 46% of those people surveyed didn’t consult with anyone regarding financial advice, and 27% said they relied on financial advice from friends and relatives.
With numbers like that, it is not surprising that only 31% of employees rated their company’s current benefits communications program highly. Up slightly from last year, 36% of employees highly ranked their company’s benefits package. Of those individuals, overall job satisfaction was nearly three times as high at 68%.
The MetLife survey also revealed some shocking statistics on money management. Approximately one-third of all full-time employees said they had trouble paying their monthly bills, while 40% said they were living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Even more disturbing is the fact that 76% of full-time employees are carrying debt other than home mortgages and auto loans. Across all age groups 63% report having credit card debt, while 16% of those individuals are only making minimum monthly payments.
Even though company profits are rebounding, fewer and fewer employers are paying the full cost of employee insurance. Sixty percent of employers said they expected employees to continue paying for some or all of their benefit costs, regardless of the state of the economy. Only 27% of companies said they pay the full cost of medical insurance, while even fewer pay for disability insurance, term life insurance coverage, dental and vision care.
More and more workers between the ages of 21 and 30 are expressing interest in having their employer provide voluntary benefits. Sixty-two percent of young workers said that payroll deductions associated with voluntary benefits were a convenient way to make payments, and 51% felt it would help them become more disciplined about saving. Young workers were also more likely than other employees to purchase financial protection at work, with 25% of them identifying the workplace as their primary channel for purchasing insurance, retirement savings and financial planning products.
The MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Survey was conducted in the third quarter of 2004 by NOP World. Respondents to the survey included 903 full-time employees, age 21 and older and 1,542 voting-age consumers.