Aflac survey: workers more confident but “lack” understanding on benefit choices

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) recently announced results from two studies that analyzed the trends, attitudes, and use of employee benefits among the U.S. workforce. 

The 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report (AWR) found that American workers may feel more confident about benefits choices, while admitting a lack of understanding regarding the choices being made. 

The findings in the AWR resulted from a national online survey of 5,000 U.S. workers, conducted between Jan. 26 and Feb. 17, by Warren, New Jersey–based Lightspeed GMI and released by Aflac. 

A separate Aflac study found younger workers who may be making benefits decisions for the first time also “lack knowledge” of health-insurance coverage but want to “branch out” and make independent benefits decisions.

Aflac, based in Columbus, Georgia, offers voluntary supplemental health and life insurance products through the workplace and is well-known for its TV commercials featuring a talking duck.

“False sense”

The 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report found that more than half (55 percent) of American workers who receive benefits from their employer agreed that completing their annual health-benefits enrollment made them “feel secure, like being tucked in at night, or accomplished, like they just finished a marathon.” 

And 67 percent said they are “confident” they understood everything for which they signed up. 

However, these results may indicate an underlying “false sense of confidence.” 

The survey also uncovered that 76 percent of workers are making benefits decisions without a “complete” knowledge of the overall plan. 

When asked specifically about understanding their overall policies, like deductibles, copays, and providers in their network, only 24 percent of these workers could answer they understood everything. 

And this result has been on a steady decline since 2015, when nearly half (47 percent) believed they knew everything, and then down to 39 percent in 2016.

“It’s counterintuitive to see that workers are reporting a positive benefits enrollment experience, but so many are still struggling with a good understanding of the various aspects of their health care coverage,” Matthew Owenby, senior VP, chief human resources officer at Aflac, said in the release. “Benefits enrollment is one of the most important decisions a worker can make each year. Ensuring workers are more educated will require a sustained effort by employers and employees alike to better understand all aspects of benefits, including coverage options and costs.”

Younger workers 

Aflac said it conducted a separate survey among 1,000 people from age 20 to 26, employed either full or part time, because millennials and Generation Z are entering the workforce in record numbers.

The Aflac WorkForces Report First-Time Enrollees Survey was conducted from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28 of this year by Austin, Texas–based Research+Data Insights Inc. on behalf of Aflac.

It found that more than half (51 percent) of young workers will be choosing their health-care benefits for the first time this enrollment season.

When thinking about health-care benefits, nearly one-quarter of young adults surveyed associate benefits with independence (22 percent), yet only 19 percent feel confident, and just 31 percent say they feel prepared. 

Their biggest concern about choosing their own health-insurance plan is cost (44 percent), followed by understanding how health insurance works (36 percent). 

Of respondents currently on their parents’ health plans (35 percent), more than half (54 percent) are leaving their parents’ plan in the next year to purchase their own benefits for the first time. 

More than two-thirds (69 percent) of those on their parents’ plans are unaware how much their health-insurance coverage even costs, but surprisingly, 41 percent indicated they contribute financially to the health-insurance plan their parents pay for, Aflac said.

Despite who is paying the bill, young workers are interested in voluntary benefits. When asked about the benefits young adults are most interested in, voluntary benefits were chosen by one-third of respondents; specifically, 32 percent said hospital insurance and 29 percent answered accident insurance, according to the survey.             

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) recently announced results from two studies that analyzed the trends, attitudes, and use of employee benefits among the U.S. workforce. 

The 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report (AWR) found that American workers may feel more confident about benefits choices, while admitting a lack of understanding regarding the choices being made. 

The findings in the AWR resulted from a national online survey of 5,000 U.S. workers, conducted between Jan. 26 and Feb. 17, by Warren, New Jersey–based Lightspeed GMI and released by Aflac. 

A separate Aflac study found younger workers who may be making benefits decisions for the first time also “lack knowledge” of health-insurance coverage but want to “branch out” and make independent benefits decisions.

Aflac, based in Columbus, Georgia, offers voluntary supplemental health and life insurance products through the workplace and is well-known for its TV commercials featuring a talking duck.

“False sense”

The 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report found that more than half (55 percent) of American workers who receive benefits from their employer agreed that completing their annual health-benefits enrollment made them “feel secure, like being tucked in at night, or accomplished, like they just finished a marathon.” 

And 67 percent said they are “confident” they understood everything for which they signed up. 

However, these results may indicate an underlying “false sense of confidence.” 

The survey also uncovered that 76 percent of workers are making benefits decisions without a “complete” knowledge of the overall plan. 

When asked specifically about understanding their overall policies, like deductibles, copays, and providers in their network, only 24 percent of these workers could answer they understood everything. 

And this result has been on a steady decline since 2015, when nearly half (47 percent) believed they knew everything, and then down to 39 percent in 2016.

“It’s counterintuitive to see that workers are reporting a positive benefits enrollment experience, but so many are still struggling with a good understanding of the various aspects of their health care coverage,” Matthew Owenby, senior VP, chief human resources officer at Aflac, said in the release. “Benefits enrollment is one of the most important decisions a worker can make each year. Ensuring workers are more educated will require a sustained effort by employers and employees alike to better understand all aspects of benefits, including coverage options and costs.”

Younger workers 

Aflac said it conducted a separate survey among 1,000 people from age 20 to 26, employed either full or part time, because millennials and Generation Z are entering the workforce in record numbers.

The Aflac WorkForces Report First-Time Enrollees Survey was conducted from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28 of this year by Austin, Texas–based Research+Data Insights Inc. on behalf of Aflac.

It found that more than half (51 percent) of young workers will be choosing their health-care benefits for the first time this enrollment season.

When thinking about health-care benefits, nearly one-quarter of young adults surveyed associate benefits with independence (22 percent), yet only 19 percent feel confident, and just 31 percent say they feel prepared. 

Their biggest concern about choosing their own health-insurance plan is cost (44 percent), followed by understanding how health insurance works (36 percent). 

Of respondents currently on their parents’ health plans (35 percent), more than half (54 percent) are leaving their parents’ plan in the next year to purchase their own benefits for the first time. 

More than two-thirds (69 percent) of those on their parents’ plans are unaware how much their health-insurance coverage even costs, but surprisingly, 41 percent indicated they contribute financially to the health-insurance plan their parents pay for, Aflac said.

Despite who is paying the bill, young workers are interested in voluntary benefits. When asked about the benefits young adults are most interested in, voluntary benefits were chosen by one-third of respondents; specifically, 32 percent said hospital insurance and 29 percent answered accident insurance, according to the survey.