Worker confidence in benefits decisions varies by age

December 20, 2011 by Christian Schappel
Which group of employees do you think is more likely to want help when making benefits decisions? Click over to see if you’re correct.

If you guessed Baby Boomers, you’d be correct, at least according to a recent survey of 874 adults by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. 

Check the stats. When asked whether they were “highly confident” in their ability to make the right benefits decisions:

• 96% of Millennials said “yes”
• 66% of Gen Xers said “yes,” and
• 64% of Baby Boomers said “yes.”

All things considered, however, those numbers appear somewhat positive — until you see what the rest of the survey revealed:

• 80% of employees said they spend less than a total of two hours evaluating their insurance options
• Only 32% of employees described their approach to open enrollment as one that incorporates “careful review,” and
• Millennials are more likely than older workers to say they carefully selected their benefits (50% v. 30% of Gen Xers and 31% of Baby Boomers).
• A smaller percentage of Millennials (78%) are enrolled in available benefits compared to their co-workers — 92% for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers combined. In particular, fewer Millennials are signing up for life insurance (46% v. 71%) and disability (53% v. 68%).