Opportunity for employers to help improve the benefits enrollment experience in the battle to retain and attract top talent

72% of employees eligible for benefits say they would rather service their car, visit the dentist or prepare for tax season than review their benefit options¹

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today new findings from a consumer survey revealing that the majority of employed individuals expect their workplace benefits to play a more critical role in their future job selection (68%) and household financial decisions (61%). As a result of the pandemic, six in 10 of surveyed employees (60%) agree that the pandemic has also made them think more carefully about the types of workplace benefits offered by their employer.¹

“Employees are increasingly seeing the value their workplace benefits can provide when they think holistically about their financial picture, and they are looking to their employers for solutions — and the pandemic has only increased this value by shining a spotlight on the convergence of health and wealth. Many have experienced first-hand how an unexpected illness or expensive visit to the hospital can have a significant impact on the financial well-being of their household,” explained Rob Grubka, CEO of Health Solutions, Voya Financial. “According to our own research at Voya, 81% of employees are interested in employer support that would improve their overall financial wellness, and 75% of working Americans want help navigating an unexpected life event, like an accident or critical illness.² This only underscores the importance employers need to place on the benefits they offer — alternatively, they may risk losing top talent in today’s competitive job market.”

The findings of Voya’s new survey come at a time when working Americans are voluntarily changing jobs, often referred to as the “Great Resignation,” as employers focus their efforts on attracting and retaining top talent. According to PwC’s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the quit rate for professional and business services occupations is 4.1% as of June 2021, up from about 3.0% in February 2020.³

While workplace benefits remain a critical part of future job selection, interestingly, with fall open enrollment approaching for millions of Americans, many employees would prefer to spend time doing other “must do” tasks. For example, if they had extra time, nearly three-quarters of American workers (72%) surveyed by Voya indicated that they would rather bring their car in for regular maintenance, visit the dentist for a cleaning or prepare for tax season instead of reviewing their annual enrollment benefits (28%), such as medical, dental, vision and voluntary benefits like accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.¹

“The open enrollment experience can be daunting for many employees — so it’s logical that some individuals, despite growing a new appreciation for their workplace benefits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would still prefer to spend their time on other important tasks,” explained Andrew Frend, SVP of Strategy and Product, Voya Health Solutions. “In our experience, individuals may have to make decisions on more than 17 benefits during annual enrollment.⁴ Plus, faced with the reality of juggling a number of competing financial priorities, many are unsure how to maximize every dollar from their paycheck. This is a growing concern with inflation on the rise, as Voya’s new survey also reveals that nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) feel like their money does not go as far as it used to go.¹”

“This presents a huge opportunity for employers and benefit providers to work together to help simplify and personalize the annual enrollment experience — so employees can act with confidence in how they allocate their next dollar,” explained Frend. “In addition to year-round education and communications efforts, innovative technology and decision-support tools can be a game-changer. For example, earlier this year, Voya nationally launched its myHealthMoney digital assistant — which provides employees with personalized decision-support for medical, dental, vision and supplemental health insurance, as well as assistance regarding contributions for health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. Voya is now focused on integrating the experience even more by providing holistic, personalized decision-support that helps address both the health and wealth needs of individuals, including retirement contributions and emergency savings.”

Voya has launched several digital innovations in recent months to help Americans holistically plan for their financial wellness needs, with more features scheduled for the end of this year and throughout 2022. These resources include Voya’s: Emergency Savings fund solutions; budget calculator; Spanish-language experience; and the Voya Learn digital educational platform, which offers live and on-demand sessions on a variety of topics, including saving for emergencies, investing concepts and market volatility, retirement income planning, debt management and more.

As an industry leader focused on the delivery of health, wealth and investment solutions to and through the workplace, Voya Financial is committed to delivering on its mission to make a secure financial future possible for all Americans — one person, one family, one institution at a time.

1) Based on the results of a Voya Financial survey conducted August 27-30, 2021, on the Ipsos eNation omnibus online platform among 1,003 adults, featuring 475 working Americans and 291 eligible for benefits, aged 18+ in the U.S.

2) Based on the results of a Voya Financial survey conducted June 3-4, 2021, on the Ipsos eNation omnibus online platform among 1,005 adults, featuring 499 working Americans, aged 18+ in the U.S.

3) PwC analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “PwC U.S. Pulse Survey: Next in Work,” 2021.

4) For illustration purposes only. Number of benefits decisions and offered workplace benefits can vary and will depend on employer offering.

About Voya Financial^®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), provides health, wealth and investment solutions that enable its approximately 14.8 million individual, workplace and institutional clients to achieve their financial wellness goals with confidence. With a vision to be America’s Retirement Company^®, Voya’s products, solutions and digital capabilities help create a better financial future for all. Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.6 billion in revenue in 2020 and $721 billion in total assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2021. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work^® Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies^® by the Ethisphere Institute; as the No. 1-ranked financial services firm among Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for three consecutive years; as a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index; and as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya.

Voya is making available to you the myHealthMoney software offered by SAVVI Financial, LLC. (“SAVVI”). Voya Financial, the parent company of Voya, and a number of other Voya Financial affiliates have financial and business relationships with SAVVI, which create an incentive for Voya to promote SAVVI’s products and services. You should access and read SAVVI’s Firm Brochure, which is available at this link: https://www.savvifi.com/legal/form-adv. It contains general information about SAVVI’s business, including conflicts of interest.

Other products and services provided by the Voya^® family of companies.

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