Voluntary Benefits for the Multi-generational Workforce

T H E M U L T I - G E N E R A T I O N A L WO R K F O R C E

S O C I E T A L T R E N D S & V O L U N T A R Y B E N E F I T S

H OW T O L A U N C H A V O L U N T A R Y B E N E F I T S P R O G R A M

T H E R O L E O F T H E V O L U N T A R Y B E N E F I T S C O N S U L T A N T

The good news: the economic tumult that began in 2007 has subsided. The bad news: rising healthcare costs are continuing to squeeze the employer’s budget. Though medical cost increases have slowed in recent years, insurers continue to report trends between 7% and 9% 9 . Prescriptions, in part fueled by high-cost specialty drugs, have escalated the pace of healthcare spending. The future of healthcare reform also stirs uneasiness about benefits in general and the high cost of medical care in particular. To ease the burden of rising healthcare costs, employers are turning to Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs), which shift more of the financial responsibility of healthcare to employees. But this shift is problematic for employees—their financial burden has increased but their wages aren’t keeping pace. In fact, healthcare spending continues to outpace wages. CDHPs typically include High Deductible Health Plans offered along with a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA), both of which are designed to help employees bear the burden of a higher out-of-pocket responsibility. However, HRAs and HSAs often don’t provide adequate financial protection, especially for employees who are afflicted with a serious illness, such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke, or for a major surgery like an organ transplant. So despite an improving economy, employees worry about the impact of an illness, accident or hospitalization on an already stressed household budget. Recent research data validates these concerns: QQ More than two-thirds of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck. 10 QQ One in four 20-year-olds will become disabled before age 67. 11 QQ Disability is 16 times more likely to trigger a mortgage foreclosure than death. 12 the lingering issue of high-cost healthcare

A NEW AGE OF WORK AND WORKERS

THE LINGERING ISSUE OF HIGH-COST HEALTHCARE

5 KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GEN X’ER

4 KEY FINANCIAL SHOCKS FACING RETIREES

In a Cigna survey of American workers 13 , 44% of respondents said they worry about how they might pay for medical costs not covered by their medical plan. Voluntary Benefits can ease that worry.

46%

44%

of employees worry about finances while at work.

of employees spend 2-3 hours weekly on finances while working.

- Prudential, “Trending Toward Financial Wellness”

- Prudential, “Trending Toward Financial Wellness”

9 Plan Sponsor, “Medical Cost Trends Continue to Outpace Inflation and Wages” 10 American Payroll Association survey 11 Social Security Administration data 12 National Safety Council data 13 Cigna, “U.S. Workers Rely on Good Intentions More than Disability Coverage to Protect Financial Health”

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