This open enrollment season, employees are looking at benefits differently |
This open enrollment season, employees are looking at benefits differently
Every day in claim and clinical operations, we see the human impact of decisions employees made months, sometimes years, earlier.
An employee facing a serious diagnosis. A parent suddenly unable to work. A family navigating the loss of someone they love. In these moments, benefits are no longer an election on a form or a deduction from a paycheck. They become a source of financial stability and reassurance when life takes an unexpected turn.
We also see what happens when employees don’t fully understand their coverage, overlook benefits that could help them, or discover too late that they declined protection they now wish they had.
That perspective feels especially relevant this open enrollment season. Employees are entering the enrollment period with recent affordability trends top of mind and are scrutinizing the cost of their benefits accordingly. New research from New York Life Group Benefit Solutions found that 71% of employees closely evaluate whether voluntary benefits provide good value for their money, rising to 83% among Gen Z workers. At the same time, 54% cite inflation and the cost of living as a leading concern, and only 49% say they feel financially secure.
What’s different isn’t that employees care more about cost. It’s that benefits are increasingly being evaluated as part of a larger financial picture.
From what we see in claims, that’s an important shift. Benefits elections are deeply personal financial decisions, and their true impact is often felt long after enrollment ends.
Our research reinforces this reality. Seventy-one percent of employees closely evaluate whether voluntary benefits provide good value for their money, rising to 83% among Gen Z workers. Yet 65% haven’t used or explored voluntary benefits outside open enrollment.
Employees are increasingly evaluating benefits as financial investments, but many disengage once enrollment ends. That disconnect deserves our attention.
The Financial Impact Is Personal
In claims, we see how quickly financial security can change. An unexpected illness can interrupt income. An accident can create unanticipated expenses. A prolonged recovery can place emotional and financial pressure on an entire family.
During these moments, employees aren’t thinking about insurance features.........