74% of Employees Who Are Very Worried about Meeting Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Dont Have A Three-Month Salary Savings Cushion to Tap Into. NEW YORK, July 23, 2013 Findings from MetLifes 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, reveal that concerns about addressing healthcare costs are impacting both employers and employees. Sixty-one percent of employees are worried about having enough money to meet out-of-pocket medical costs that are not covered by health insurance and employers are facing tighter benefits budgets, with half (50%) of surveyed employers stating that cost-sharing with employees is an important benefits strategy. These concerns are creating a delicate balancing act for employers how to meet employees protection needs while keeping benefits costs down and maintaining loyalty.
Employers can help employees address these rising costs by making supplementary health benefits available through the workplace. Some of these voluntary benefits, such as accident and critical illness insurance, can help employees cope with unplanned medical costs. These employee-paid benefits allow workers to fill the gaps between their health insurance coverage and out-of-pocket expenses without having employers add to their benefits budgets.
As they continue to recover from the recession, employees are looking to employers to provide a stronger and wider safety net, said Michael Fradkin, senior vice president, Voluntary & Worksite Benefits at MetLife. In fact, according to the MetLife Study, 58% of employees who are very concerned that their employer will no longer offer medical insurance strongly agree that voluntary supplemental benefits are important for managing their health care costs.
Employees Facing Financial Stress
In addition to covering out-of-pocket medical costs such as co-pays, premiums and deductibles, the Study also found other areas of financial stress for employees:
Fifty-five percent of employees report they worry about meeting their monthly living expenses and financial obligations;
Fifty-eight percent of employees are concerned about having enough money to make ends meet;
Fifty-three percent describe themselves as living paycheck to paycheck.
Addressing Loyalty Concerns
However, while the number of companies stating that a voluntary benefits strategy is important has grown from 32% in 2010 to 58% in 2012, employers may be concerned about the effect of benefits cost-sharing on employee loyalty.
According to the MetLife study, less than half (47%) of employee respondents report feeling very loyal to their company and a third (34%) of employees strongly agree with the statement, Having to pay a larger share of my benefits premium costs would make me feel less loyal to my employer. But this does not mean that employers should shy away from voluntary benefits.
A strategic use of voluntary benefit offerings can actually be a loyalty booster and a smart solution when walking this loyalty and budget tightrope, added Fradkin. Smart employers count on the importance of benefits for their employees and build on the fact that employees place even greater value on having benefits that meet their individual needs. According to the study, 77% of workers say that they value a variety of benefits to choose from as well as more personalized options.
This gives employers an opportunity to strategically and cost-effectively expand their benefits portfolio by adding voluntary health benefits without concern about a negative impact on loyalty. Sixty-one percent of employees report that having a choice of benefits that lets them customize a benefits program to meet their needs would increase their loyalty to their employer.
Taking Action
Employers can receive actionable steps on the strategic use of voluntary benefit offerings and walking the loyalty/budget tightrope at BenefitTrends.MetLife.com. Additional insights from MetLifes 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends will be added to the website throughout the year, and visitors to the website can sign-up to receive automatic updates as new data is posted.
Methodology
MetLifes 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends was conducted during October 2012 and consisted of two distinct studies fielded by GfK Custom Research North America. The employer survey comprised 1,503 interviews with benefits decision-makers at companies with staff sizes of at least two employees. The employee sample comprised 1,422 interviews with full-time employees age 21 and over, at companies with a minimum of two employees.
About GfK
GfK is one of the worlds largest research companies, with more than 11,500 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. To find out more, visit www.gfk.com/us or follow GfK on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gfk_en.
About MetLife
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
74% of Employees Who Are Very Worried about Meeting Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Dont Have A Three-Month Salary Savings Cushion to Tap Into. NEW YORK, July 23, 2013 Findings from MetLifes 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, reveal that concerns about addressing healthcare costs are impacting both employers and employees. Sixty-one percent of employees are worried about having enough money to meet out-of-pocket medical costs that are not covered by health insurance and employers are facing tighter benefits budgets, with half (50%) of surveyed employers stating that cost-sharing with employees is an important benefits strategy. These concerns are creating a delicate balancing act for employers how to meet employees protection needs while keeping benefits costs down and maintaining loyalty.
