Voluntary Benefits
NEW BLOG SERIES
Published by Trustmark Voluntary Benefits on July 29th, 2024
By: Kelly Marcus, Regional Sales Director, Capital
In our last installment of Care takes, we learned that despite there not being a one-size-fits-all solution to the long-term care (LTC) crisis, consumers are still adamant about securing long-term care benefits (typically through hybrid life insurance with LTC benefits) to provide both a physical and monetary sense of security.
Despite consumers showing a clear desire to have these solutions available, it begs the questions; what’s in it for employers to offer the benefits? What do they lose by not offering these benefits? And if they do decide to offer life with LTC benefits, does offering them impact their business in a meaningful way?
To better understand the employer’s perspective, I'll walk through their most common concerns, questions, and the benefits employers should consider when determining whether or not to offer voluntary life with LTC benefit for their employees.
COSTS
When it comes to offering anything for employees, employers always look at one thing first; how much is it going to cost them? Fortunately for us (the carrier and producer), the costs are typically minimized to the employer because they’re offered as employee-paid voluntary benefits. Of course, there are some costs associated to offering employees benefits, like having to teach HR teams about the LTC solutions to handle general inquires, payroll or benefit platform use, etc. Helping reaffirm this for employers right out of the gate can help keep initial conversations about offering life with LTC benefits casual.
However, while employers are usually pleasantly surprised to learn that offering long-term care solutions can be virtually free for them, they still tend to have hesitations about the added expense it can have on their employees. If their average employee has a lower-than-average salary, there may be a preconceived notion that they can’t afford life with LTC benefits—so it isn’t worth the hassle of offering the benefits in the first place. But the reality is that there are coverage options that can meet both their budget and needs.
No matter the policy size, LTC benefits can have a significant impact on an employee’s life. In Trustmark’s case, policies for hybrid life and LTC can be as small at $25K. And if you’re in a state that can include additional riders, that $25K policy can turn into $50K worth of LTC benefits with an extension of LTC benefit rider. While we know that $50K may not be enough to cover all of their LTC expenses, it can make a big difference in the lives of the policyholders and their caregivers. That’s why it’s up to us (the carriers and producer’s) to educate employers on the true costs associated with LTC.
STAYING COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET
Employers are also constantly comparing themselves to their competitors to discover ways to give themselves an advantage when recruiting. When it comes to benefits, employers in all industries and sizes want to able to say that they’re just as good—if not better—than their competitors. Offering LTC benefits can be an easy, cost-free way employers can give themselves a competitive advantage over their industry peers.
It’s not just a matter of “keeping up with the competition” to offer these benefits either—employees are closely looking at the benefits packages on offer when making a decision on where they want to work.
Note that 75% of employees say they consider whether a company offers voluntary benefits when deciding whether to stay or leave their companies1, offering these life with LTC benefits can give some employers a massive edge in the market for hiring and keeping top-tier talent.
PRODUCTIVITY
As it relates to the care crisis, employers have concerns about the productivity of their workforce and how caregiving can interfere with their work—and rightfully so. On average, one in five Americans provide unpaid family care2, causing those employees to have to miss work, change schedules, or abruptly leave the workforce to provide care. Unscheduled absenteeism costs roughly $3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,660 each year for salaried employees3.
Employers generally want to support their employees, but it needs to balance with meeting the business objectives of the company. Life with LTC benefits can do just that. They’re typically cost effective for employers and they give employees the option to get benefits that help support their financial needs.
COMPANIES DON'T MAKE DECISIONS; THEIR PEOPLE DO
You might be thinking, those are the same thing—the employer and their people—right? Well, not necessarily. The way a company may appear on paper isn’t always a reflection of the people who work there. The employer might publicly have a stance, view, or mission; but there are regular people like you and me making those decisions.
For example, I once worked alongside a consultant who planned to pitch an employer he thought wasn’t going to be interested in this benefit offering. On paper, the employer was small (only had around 300 lives), lower end salaries, and was what’s considered a “non-target industry.” He was simply doing his due diligence, but he was confident this employer was going to give him an automatic “no.” Yet, despite the opportunity looking far from a homerun, it ended up being a grand slam.
Remember how I mentioned before that one in five Americans provide unpaid family care? Well, the CEO of this company ended up being a representation of that statistic, having recently helped provide their own parents with LTC services. Once they learned more about what we were offering, they jumped all over it. It was almost a non-negotiation; they wanted those benefits for their employees so that they wouldn’t have to experience the strain they’d gone through. Their enthusiasm led to a winning case with over 30% participation, despite all those challenges.
Coming next, my colleague Brett Daniel will discuss LTC through the perspective of you, the producer. In it, he’ll go over industry specific common misconceptions, how you can reframe the conversation around LTC, and more.
To stay up to date on other important LTC legislative updates from Trustmark Voluntary Benefits, be sure to follow us on our LinkedIn and X.
VIEW PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: VIEW NEXT: Source:
1 Voluntary Benefits 101: What are they and how they work? Voya Financial. 2022.
2 1 in 5 Americans Now Provide Unpaid Family Care. AARP. 2020.
3 The Causes and Costs of Absenteeism. Investopedia. 2021.
In our last installment of Care takes, we learned that despite there not being a one-size-fits-all solution to the long-term care (LTC) crisis, consumers are still adamant about securing long-term care benefits (typically through hybrid life insurance with LTC benefits) to provide both a physical and monetary sense of security.
Despite consumers showing a clear desire to have these solutions available, it begs the questions; what’s in it for employers to offer the benefits? What do they lose by not offering these benefits? And if they do decide to offer life with LTC benefits, does offering them impact their business in a meaningful way?
To better understand the employer’s perspective, I'll walk through their most common concerns, questions, and the benefits employers should consider when determining whether or not to offer voluntary life with LTC benefit for their employees.
COSTS
When it comes to offering anything for employees, employers always look at one thing first; how much is it going to cost them? Fortunately for us (the carrier and producer), the costs are typically minimized to the employer because they’re offered as employee-paid voluntary benefits. Of course, there are some costs associated to offering employees benefits, like having to teach HR teams about the LTC solutions to handle general inquires, payroll or benefit platform use, etc. Helping reaffirm this for employers right out of the gate can help keep initial conversations about offering life with LTC benefits casual.
However, while employers are usually pleasantly surprised to learn that offering long-term care solutions can be virtually free for them, they still tend to have hesitations about the added expense it can have on their employees. If their average employee has a lower-than-average salary, there may be a preconceived notion that they can’t afford life with LTC benefits—so it isn’t worth the hassle of offering the benefits in the first place. But the reality is that there are coverage options that can meet both their budget and needs.
No matter the policy size, LTC benefits can have a significant impact on an employee’s life. In Trustmark’s case, policies for hybrid life and LTC can be as small at $25K. And if you’re in a state that can include additional riders, that $25K policy can turn into $50K worth of LTC benefits with an extension of LTC benefit rider. While we know that $50K may not be enough to cover all of their LTC expenses, it can make a big difference in the lives of the policyholders and their caregivers. That’s why it’s up to us (the carriers and producer’s) to educate employers on the true costs associated with LTC.
STAYING COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET
Employers are also constantly comparing themselves to their competitors to discover ways to give themselves an advantage when recruiting. When it comes to benefits, employers in all industries and sizes want to able to say that they’re just as good—if not better—than their competitors. Offering LTC benefits can be an easy, cost-free way employers can give themselves a competitive advantage over their industry peers.
It’s not just a matter of “keeping up with the competition” to offer these benefits either—employees are closely looking at the benefits packages on offer when making a decision on where they want to work.
Note that 75% of employees say they consider whether a company offers voluntary benefits when deciding whether to stay or leave their companies1, offering these life with LTC benefits can give some employers a massive edge in the market for hiring and keeping top-tier talent.
PRODUCTIVITY
As it relates to the care crisis, employers have concerns about the productivity of their workforce and how caregiving can interfere with their work—and rightfully so. On average, one in five Americans provide unpaid family care2, causing those employees to have to miss work, change schedules, or abruptly leave the workforce to provide care. Unscheduled absenteeism costs roughly $3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,660 each year for salaried employees3.
Employers generally want to support their employees, but it needs to balance with meeting the business objectives of the company. Life with LTC benefits can do just that. They’re typically cost effective for employers and they give employees the option to get benefits that help support their financial needs.
COMPANIES DON'T MAKE DECISIONS; THEIR PEOPLE DO
You might be thinking, those are the same thing—the employer and their people—right? Well, not necessarily. The way a company may appear on paper isn’t always a reflection of the people who work there. The employer might publicly have a stance, view, or mission; but there are regular people like you and me making those decisions.
For example, I once worked alongside a consultant who planned to pitch an employer he thought wasn’t going to be interested in this benefit offering. On paper, the employer was small (only had around 300 lives), lower end salaries, and was what’s considered a “non-target industry.” He was simply doing his due diligence, but he was confident this employer was going to give him an automatic “no.” Yet, despite the opportunity looking far from a homerun, it ended up being a grand slam.
Remember how I mentioned before that one in five Americans provide unpaid family care? Well, the CEO of this company ended up being a representation of that statistic, having recently helped provide their own parents with LTC services. Once they learned more about what we were offering, they jumped all over it. It was almost a non-negotiation; they wanted those benefits for their employees so that they wouldn’t have to experience the strain they’d gone through. Their enthusiasm led to a winning case with over 30% participation, despite all those challenges.
...
If there is one theme you can take away from these insights on the employer perspective, it’s that they are always looking to solve for a business need. They’re often pleasantly surprised when they learn the life with LTC benefits can help solve challenges on many levels, so don’t be afraid to educate them on more than just the consumer need for care. Employers can benefit from these solutions just as much as their employees can.Coming next, my colleague Brett Daniel will discuss LTC through the perspective of you, the producer. In it, he’ll go over industry specific common misconceptions, how you can reframe the conversation around LTC, and more.
To stay up to date on other important LTC legislative updates from Trustmark Voluntary Benefits, be sure to follow us on our LinkedIn and X.
VIEW PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: VIEW NEXT: Source:
1 Voluntary Benefits 101: What are they and how they work? Voya Financial. 2022.
2 1 in 5 Americans Now Provide Unpaid Family Care. AARP. 2020.
3 The Causes and Costs of Absenteeism. Investopedia. 2021.
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Written by Trustmark Voluntary Benefits
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