Prudential Study Shows Employees Seeking Protection against the Unexpected
NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--People rate job security and “making ends meet” as their top financial concerns, according to a recent report released by Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).
The Prudential report, Back to Basics showed workers rank these issues above “having appropriate health insurance coverage” the perennial top financial concern among U.S. workers.
“Employees are increasingly aware of the importance of protecting against the unexpected -- such as the premature death of a main wage earner, a disability, or the need for long-term care,” said Lori High, president of Prudential’s Group Insurance business. “Employees value comprehensive employer-sponsored benefits plans and need easy-to-understand information about available choices.”
Back to Basics provides insight from benefits plan participants, benefits plan sponsors, and benefits brokers and consultants. High said the findings can be used to help employees prepare for annual enrollment and to support employers’ business planning and strategy development. Additional findings noted in the report are:
- The importance of “saving for retirement” has declined over the past three years, with a steep drop in 2009, as more pressing, short-term financial needs came into focus.
- Workers are less certain about when they are going to retire with 14% in 2009 saying they don’t know when they are going to retire compared to 9 % last year.
- Nearly half of U.S. workers say they re-evaluated their life insurance needs within the past year, which is a significant increase from 2008.
”Employers can help by keeping their focus on providing long-term financial security through their benefits offerings,” High said. “Maintaining a high-quality benefits plan that includes robust voluntary benefits options like life insurance at several times an employee’s salary can help provide an added sense of well-being.”
High said employees and group plan administrators are finding it difficult to navigate the myriad of benefit options and administrative details involved in selecting a group insurance plan. Prudential is addressing the varying needs of employees by age and stage of life in enrollment communications based on employee demographics.
She said Prudential’s suite of voluntary benefits promotes employee choice and help employers contain costs. To support benefits administrators faced with reduced staffing, Prudential provides administration programs including absence management, return to work strategies and the support with issues relating to the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Prudential’s Back to Basics report, the second in a series of five, stems from the company’s broad Study of Employee Benefits: 2009 and Beyond report which was fielded via the Internet during April and May of 2009 and consists of three distinct surveys: one among benefits plan sponsors, one among benefits plan participants, and one among employee benefits brokers and consultants. The surveys were conducted for Prudential by the Center for Strategy Research, Inc., a Boston-based, independent, market research firm. Click here for a copy of Back to Basics..
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU)
A financial services leader with approximately $580 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2009, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.
Group insurance benefits are issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ. Prudential and the Rock logo are registered service marks of The Prudential Insurance Company of America.
