General News: 2005 and 2004 Press Releases
WORKERS SWEAT THE BIG STUFF – HEALTHCARE, DISABILITY
INSURANCE, RETIREMENT – BUT VALUE VACATION TIME MORE
Many in "Gratification Nation" Live Paycheck-to-Paycheck;
63% Carry Credit Card Debt NEW YORK, December 27, 2004 –
The number one concern of today’s employees is having enough
money to pay bills during a period of income loss, with 71% of
full-time employees surveyed in the MetLife Employee Benefits
Trend Study reporting that they are extremely concerned. Other
key concerns include having enough money to make ends meet
(63%), "having appropriate health insurance" (59%) and outliving
their retirement savings (49%). Despite the high level of
anxiety, however, most full-time employees value paid vacation
days (cited as most important by 64% of workers) significantly
more than income protection and retirement savings products such
as employer-funded pension plans (32%), disability insurance
(26%), life insurance (24%) and long-term care insurance (8%).
Among the youngest employees surveyed (age 21 -30), sick leave
(49%) and flexible work schedules (29%) also take precedence
over employer-funded pension plans (25%), life insurance (21%)
and disability insurance (19%).
"Many employees are stuck in a personal finance impasse," notes
C. Robert Henrikson, president and chief operating officer of
MetLife, Inc. "They worry deeply about having the proper
healthcare and benefits in place for their families. But far too
often, they allow their long-term plans to get derailed by
short-term priorities. The lure of – and often the real need for
– big-ticket purchases such as cars and home furnishings,
paid/unpaid vacations and small discretionary expenditures:
these are just some of the shorter-term priorities that can
crowd out longer-term goals."
When it comes to retirement savings, a similar pattern emerges.
Almost half of full-time employees (49%) say that they worry a
great deal about outliving their retirement money, yet almost
one-third either haven’t started saving for retirement or
haven’t established savings goals. As a result, only 24% of
full-time employees feel in control of their finances, and
nearly three-quarters (70%) do not have a financial plan.
"Today’s employees need a financial roadmap to get them back on
track," says Craig Guiffre, senior vice president, Institutional
Business, at MetLife. "With employees now responsible for
selecting and funding a significant share of their healthcare,
retirement and insurance-related benefits, they need more
financial education and advice than most are currently
receiving."
Only 40% of
full-time employees – and 29% of those age 21 – 30 – state that
they understand which benefits options best meet their needs. To
fill the gap, 27% of full-time employees overall rely on friends
and relatives for financial advice, while 46% don’t consult with
anyone. Almost half (43%) of employees would like their employer
to provide them with access to a financial planner to help make
decisions about how to invest their 401(k) money.
Not surprisingly then, only 31% of employees give their
companies’ current benefits communications program high marks.
Roughly the same percentage (36%) give high marks to their
companies’ benefits package, up only slightly from last year
(32%). Among workers who are highly satisfied with their
companies’ employee benefits, overall job satisfaction is nearly
three times as high (68%) as it is for employees who are not
satisfied (23%).
Among other key survey Findings:
Four in Ten Workers Live Paycheck-to-Paycheck –
Approximately one-third (28%) of all full-time employees
(and 37% of female employees) report that they sometimes
have trouble paying their monthly bills. Four in ten
full-time employees (42%) report that they are living
paycheck-to-paycheck. Among women and widows who work
full-time, the current percentage living
paycheck-to-paycheck rises to 51% and 70% respectively.
Burdened with Credit Card Debt, Employees Struggle to
Make Ends Meet – Compounding cash-flow worries, more
than three-quarters (76%) of full-time employees are
carrying debt other than home mortgages and auto loans,
and 63% have credit card debt. Somewhat surprisingly,
the debt level is fairly consistent across all age
groups, with 16% of employees making the minimum monthly
payment on their credit cards and 47% paying off
somewhat more than the minimum most months.
Voluntary Benefits Grow in Popularity, Especially Among
Young Workers – More than one-third (34%) of
full-time employees surveyed say they are interested in
having their employer provide a wider array of voluntary
(i.e., employee-paid) benefits, up from 28% in 2003.
Full-time employees view the payroll deduction
associated with voluntary benefits as a "convenient way
to make payments" (62%) and as a "means for becoming
more disciplined about saving" (51%). The ability to
"sign up for insurance without going through a medical
exam" is also a strong selling point for 50% of
full-time employees. In terms of buying patterns, young
workers are more likely than their peers to purchase
financial and protection products at work. While only
18% of full-time employees currently identify the
workplace as their primary channel for purchasing
insurance, retirement savings and financial/legal
planning products, the percentage rises to 25% for young
workers age 21 – 30.
Employee Cost Sharing is Here to Stay, Even as Company
Profits Rebound – Fewer employers are paying the
full cost of their employees’ insurance – and this trend
is unlikely to reverse itself any time soon. Nearly
two-thirds (60%) of employers say that they expect
employees to continue paying for some or all of their
benefits costs, even though the economy is improving.
Currently, only 27% of companies pay the full cost of
their employees’ medical insurance, while even fewer
fully subsidize dental coverage (19%) and vision care
(16%). A somewhat higher percentage of employers pay the
full cost of their employees’ disability insurance (30%)
and term life insurance coverage (32%).
The MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Study was conducted during
the third quarter of 2004 and consisted of two distinct surveys.
The employee survey, fielded by NOP World, polled 903 full-time
employees, age 21 and older, at companies with at least two
employees, and 1,542 voting-age consumers. The employer survey
was conducted by TNS NFO and polled a total of 1,528 HR/Benefits
executives from companies with at least two employees
participated in the employer survey.
MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a leading
provider of insurance and other financial services to individual
and institutional customers. The MetLife companies serve
individuals in approximately 13 million households in the U.S.
and provide benefits to 37 million employees and family members
through their plan sponsors. Outside the U.S., the MetLife
companies serve approximately 8 million customers through direct
insurance operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Uruguay.
