A new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research finds that amid the stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one bright spot that stands out is that workers are largely satisfied with their employer-provided health and retirement benefits..
According to an article published by the National Association of Plan Advisors, the EBRI’s Workplace Wellness Study finds that two in three employees feel stressed when thinking about their financial future. And nearly half of employees are concerned with their household’s financial well-being, citing saving for retirement and emergencies as top sources of financial stress.
In view of those findings, health and retirement benefits were found to contribute most to employees’ feelings of financial security, even more so than in 2018, according to the study. More than half (55 percent) of respondents say their retirement plan “contributes a lot” to feeling financially secure, while nearly two-thirds say their health insurance contributes a lot to their security.
“Health insurance remains the benefit employees are most likely to consider when making employment decisions, followed by retirement savings plans, and these benefits play a critical role in employees’ feelings of financial security,” notes Paul Fronstin, Director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program. Read the full article.