Guardian research finds voluntary benefits valuable to employees

November 27, 2012 at 08:34 AM

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Employees feel that their workplace plays a larger and more important role in their personal finances compared with five years ago according to a Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) study based on two voluntary benefits surveys.

One survey found that 64 percent of respondents value the research and competitive shopping that their companies perform on their behalf when selecting voluntary benefits.

Voluntary benefits have been considered to have a positive impact on the way that employees view the companies they work for and with the recent implementation of the patient protection and affordable care act (PPACA) voluntary benefits are viewed by many experts in the industry as a way for companies to distinguish themselves.

The study found that nine in 10 workers regard voluntary benefits as adding more value to their benefits package and one third say that they are interested in their employer offering more voluntary benefits.

However, workers need direction in making the right benefits decisions and education and decision-support initiatives by their employers will be necessary to ensure that worker confidence in their benefits translates into the correct amount of financial protection. Half of the workers surveyed are confident in their ability to make the correct benefits choices.

Critical illness insurance was one of the voluntary benefits that most interested workers while disability insurance was viewed as the second most desirable voluntary benefit.

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