Worksite Smarter.
What's on the minds of working Americans?
By Shefali Desai
Posted on: October 11, 2022
Are we doing enough for working Americans when it comes to helping them build financial well-being?
According to LIMRA research1, the effects of COVID, inflation, the economic downturn, supply chain issues, stock market volatility, and labor market disruptions are all factors impacting today’s quality of life. It’s also driving concerns for fiscal stability. 51% of employees are either distressed, stressed, or just managing when it comes to their financial wellness.2
But as group voluntary benefits providers, we can help — I firmly believe we can make a difference to working Americans. Employees count on their workplace benefits. In fact, 62% of workers believe their employee benefits available through work are an important resource for financial wellness.2
We can help better support employees by expanding their group voluntary benefit options with more robust offerings such as Group Whole Life. With advantages such as cash value accumulation, level premiums, guaranteed death benefit, and other lifetime features*, we’re opening the doors for workers to financial choices they may not have access to outside of work.
Want to know what else can help? Encouraging employers to have more dialogue about these types of benefits and their value. Employees want more communications about their benefits and they want to hear about them beyond enrollment season. Recent studies show 56% of workers feel employers communicate their benefits only somewhat well, slightly well or not well at all.3 In terms of frequency, 69% of employees would like to see more communications occur a few times a year or regularly throughout the year.3
I find these statistics compelling — you may even find them surprising. As champions of worksite benefits, we should all be listening and learning about trends associated with the middle market. Consequently, I’ll be sitting down next month with Patrick Leary, Corporate Vice President of Workplace Benefits Research at LIMRA, to explore even further what’s on the minds of working Americans in a webinar entitled: Worksite in Progress: What’s on the minds of working Americans? We will be sharing details soon and I hope you’ll be able to join us.
Together, let’s continue to make Worksite Better.
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1Consumer Sentiment in the Time of COVID-19 (July 2022), LIMRA, 2022.
2The Impact of Financial Wellness on Work, LIMRA, 2022. (Release date October 2022)
3 2022 BEAT Study: Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker, LIMRA, 2022
*Access to cash values through borrowing or partial surrenders will reduce the certificate’s cash value and death benefit, increase the chance the certificate will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the certificate terminates before the death of the insured.
FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.
The product and/or certain features may not be available in all states. State variations will apply.
Group Whole Life Insurance (GPWL), (policy/certificate forms MM-GPWL-2014 and MM-GCWL-2014, and MM-GPWL-2014 (NC) and MM-GCWL-2014 (NC) in North Carolina), is level-premium, participating permanent life insurance. The GPWL policy and GCWL certificates are issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001.