Dive Brief:
- Employers significantly misjudge how well their benefit offerings are meeting employee demands: While 75% believe their workforce is satisfied with what they offer, only 65% of employees agree, according to Aflac’s 2025-2026 benefits trend report.
- One noticeable misunderstanding involves communication, spring surveys of 1,002 employers and 2,000 employees across the U.S. found. Nearly 2 in 5 (37%) of employees said they want to talk to a real person to help with benefits enrollment, but only 28% of employers offer this option. Similarly, 32% of employees said they want one-on-one access to a benefit consultant, but only 28% of employers provide it.
- Employers are also out-of-touch with employee concerns about medical bills: 78% believe employees can handle this financial burden, but 44% of workers say they couldn’t cover $1,000 in unexpected health expenses. Almost 1 in 5 (19%) said they wouldn’t be able to afford $500 in healthcare costs.
Dive Insight:
To help close the gap, employers may want to consider the frequency, content and delivery method for sharing information about benefits, Aflac recommended.
For instance, “when employees hear about their benefits only once a year, it’s no surprise they feel unsure about what’s available to them or how to make the most of it,” the report noted. Yet, less than half (46%) of employers said they communicate about benefits throughout the year, and only a third (34%) of employees indicated they’re getting the messages, the survey found.
Yearlong benefits education with clear communication and ease of access can help improve employee satisfaction with — and understanding about — benefit offerings, the report said.
Strikingly, nearly 7 in 10 employees said they want more information overall. Enrollment season is a critical time for this, but it’s also when organizations fall short, Aflac stressed.
Findings from two recent studies highlight how pressing the issue is. In the first, three-quarters (77%) of employees surveyed by Voya Financial said they plan to spend more time reassessing their benefit elections during open enrollment this year, up from 69% last year.
Yet, in surveys by New York Life Group Benefit Solutions on employees’ benefit preferences, less than half of workers said they don’t even know how to enroll in benefit plans.
Being able to manage their benefits online is also nonnegotiable for most employees, especially Generation Z and millennials, the Aflac survey found. Almost 9 in 10 said that’s very or extremely important.
