Roughly half of U.S. employees want more help from their employers to save for retirement, balance their work and life issues, and get the most value from their employee benefits, according to research from the Global Benefits Attitudes Survey by Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company (NASDAQ: WLTW).
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“The pandemic and its economic impact have strengthened Americans’ desire for greater financial security as well as flexibility, and many are looking to their employers for help,” said Steve Nyce, senior economist, Willis Towers Watson. “At the same time, benefit costs have become a sensitive issue. Employees are paying more for benefits, which in turn is squeezing their take-home pay, and need to find ways to lower or stabilize their costs.”
According to the survey of nearly 5,000 U.S. employees, more than a third of respondents (37%) cited reducing benefit costs as their top benefits priority for 2021, followed by receiving greater benefits security from their employer (26%). Roughly two in 10 employees identified receiving more benefit choices (19%) and having more flexibility in where, when and how often they work (18%) as top priorities.
The survey also found retirement security is important to employees of all ages, although their priorities vary. Younger employees desire more flexibility, such as having access to retirement savings for emergencies or other financial needs. Older employees are mostly interested in guaranteed retirement and medical benefits.
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Employees want help with tools and resources
Nearly half of respondents (45%) would like their employers’ help with getting the most value from their benefits. Nearly six in 10 (59%) said offering them a single website that lets them review and manage all of their benefits would help them get more value from their benefits. Roughly half (53%) want tools to help them better understand their choices, while 49% want the ability to speak with a benefit specialist when making decisions.
While work-from-home arrangements have helped both employees and employers during the pandemic, the survey found employees want more assistance to meet their needs. Nearly half of employees (46%) would like their employers to help with work/life balance issues, while 52% indicated that more generous paid time off, vacation and sick leave at the expense of other benefits would best meet those needs. About four in 10 cited greater flexibility in how often they work (44%) and where they work (40%).
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