Nevin's Data "Points"

Ask any benefits manager why their organization offers benefits to their workers, and my experience suggests that the reliably consistent answer is “to attract and retain the best workers.” Indeed, as the 2013 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey (WBS)¹ bears out, the benefits package that an employer offers prospective employees is an important factor in their decision to accept or reject a job. In fact, a full third of employees say the benefits package is extremely important, and another 45 percent say it is very important. Moreover, a quarter of employees report they have accepted, quit, or changed jobs because of the benefits—other than salary or wage level—that an employer offered or failed to offer.² However, the WBS also found that many workers are not especially satisfied with the benefits package offered by their employer: 31 percent are only somewhat satisfied, and one-quarter are not too satisfied (12 percent) or not at all satisfied (14 percent). It is, of ...

Here’s a question to ask yourself: “Why do you offer a 401(k) plan?” I’m guessing that many, perhaps most of you, would say simply, perhaps without giving it much thought, “to attract and retain good employees.” That’s what more than half of the plan sponsors canvassed in a recent Wells Fargo survey said (see “ Survey Suggests Gaps in Plan Sponsor Goals, Roles ”), and it’s one of the top reasons cited by none other than the Department of Labor ). I’m guessing a similarly high number of you might say you “have” to offer the plan as part of your benefit offerings to be competitive. In fact, I was surprised that 45% of the respondents to that Wells Fargo survey indicated that a primary goal of the program was to provider workers with the means to arrange for a financially sound retirement. Not that that isn’t in the back of plan sponsor minds; I just don’t think it looms large as a rationale for the time, energy, and expense of establishing and keeping these programs in place. Still, ...