Employees favor companies that offer voluntary benefits

While two thirds of employees report they are satisfied with their employers' benefit offerings, this represents a slight decline in satisfaction compared to 2010 when 73 percent claimed their satisfaction with their current benefits package.

The survey also notes that companies can do more to help their employees understand their benefit options. Only half of workers surveyed in 2010 and 2012 report being knowledgeable about voluntary benefits. And, employees in small companies are less knowledgeable about voluntary benefits than employees at medium- and large-sized companies (small, 47 percent; medium, 60 percent; large, 58 percent).

The 2012 survey finds that nearly half of employees (48 percent) say they spend less than one hour researching their options before deciding on enrollment benefits, with about a quarter (26 percent) spending less than 30 minutes. Only eight percent of employees report spending five hours or more on research before deciding on their enrollment benefits.