MetLife Open Enrollment Trends Survey Signals Desire for Employee Benefits for "People-Like-Me"

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2007

NEW YORK -- According to MetLife's 2007 Open Enrollment Trends Survey, released today, employees are interested in receiving information geared toward their life stage - i.e. "people like me" - on what kinds of benefits to select during their company's open enrollment period. Six out of 10 (59%) employees would like their employer to suggest benefits that would be appropriate for someone in their life stage. And, more than one in five (22%) say guidelines or instructions for "people-like-me" would improve their overall open enrollment experience. Younger singles (42%) are least likely to say their benefits currently meet their life stage needs with new families (57%) the most likely.

Customized Advice for "People Like Me"

In addition, individuals turn to co-workers or peers (with similar life stage concerns) for advice. Other than their spouse, employees are most likely to see someone in their life stage (22%) as the most important source of advice - ahead of HR (14%) or a professional advisor (11%). Older and younger singles in particular crave life stage advice with over 20% expressing interest in having access to an advisor to help them make better benefits decisions during the open enrollment period.

"Signaling a shift from 'one-size-fits-all' benefits programs, this survey demonstrates that employees are looking for life stage-appropriate guidance and advice - particularly when it comes to coverage levels and benefits selection," notes Bill Mullaney, president of MetLife's Institutional Business. "As employees shoulder more and more responsibility for selecting and funding their own benefits and as the workplace becomes increasingly diverse, only half of employees feel that their benefits meet their needs completely. As a result, employers have an opportunity to provide customized information that will allow their employees to select the most important and appropriate benefits during the open enrollment process."

"Open Enrollment in the workplace is when most employees make their biggest financial decisions for their benefits plan, which is often the foundation of their overall financial plan. Unfortunately, many individuals spend only about 30 minutes on this process, often just remaining with the prior year's benefits. Employees must take the time to understand the issues so that they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families," said Mullaney. "Today, fewer than half of all U.S. households are 'traditional families' i.e., a husband, wife and children. As the definition of family changes, so too do employees' needs for savings and protection products."

Of the workers who would like their employees to suggest benefits based on their life stage, more than eight in ten (84%) say they would be willing to share personal information (i.e., age, marital status, number of children, income) with their company's benefits manager in order to allow the company's insurer or benefits provider to offer customized guidance on appropriate life stage benefits.

Benefits Information Age

Of the younger singles who turn to their HR department for advice, over three-fourths (78%) would like their employer to suggest life-stage guidelines for their benefit selection. They are also the most likely to value advice from their parents - with 22% reporting that they turn to their parents, compared to only 6% of employees overall. Younger singles need hand-holding - they are more likely than their older peers to feel "anxious" during the benefits selection process.

"The younger generations of this information-hungry age are increasingly focused on preparing themselves for the future, especially given the fraying of traditional corporate and social safety nets," said Mullaney.

New Families: Bundles of Joy

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of new families report the open enrollment experience as positive and 56% say that they thoroughly read the benefits package. In addition, 85% felt confident in their overall benefits decisions, 53% felt "comfortable" in the process, and 40% said they seek open enrollment advice from their spouse.

Disappointment Brewing Among Experienced Workers

As employees age, frustration levels seem to grow. Older singles (17%) felt the most "frustrated" about the decision-making process during open enrollment, while 14% of DINKs (Double Income, No Kids) felt "'disappointed" during the process. Four in ten younger boomers (41%) say their primary emotion was a feeling of "comfort," while almost one-fifth (17%) of young boomers was "disappointment;" another 9% say they were "frustrated" (more than 1 in 4 claim to have felt either "disappointed" or "frustrated"). Younger boomers are most likely (73%) to hold their employer accountable for their negative feelings during open enrollment.

Other key findings include:

Open Enrollment Casts A Wide Shadow. Emotions that employees experience during the open enrollment process (positive and/or negative) are likely to have an impact on workplace satisfaction. Over one-half (58%) of people who say they feel negative or not confident about their decisions hold their employers accountable for this feeling. A common response was, "Health insurance costs keep going up and the coverage available isn't as good as it was in the past." Among employees who felt happy during the open enrollment experience, 38% credit their employer with their positive feelings and 82% of employees credit themselves.