Benefits Education for Better Outcomes
Why Employee Benefits Education Matters More Than Ever
Benefits are a huge investment for employers, not just in terms of dollars but also in time spent on administration. With all the work employers are already putting into providing benefits for their employees, it can feel frustrating when employees are confused about the plan or the options that are available to them. These days, offering a range of employee benefits is essential, but with insurance and financial literacy so low for a broad population, what can employers do to help ensure employees take full advantage of the benefits they’re providing? One simple solution is to provide employee benefits education as part of a company’s overall benefits strategy. Read on to learn about why employee education is important and the advantages it can provide.
Why Provide Employee Benefits Education?
The Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) conducted a study in 2025 showing that 7 out of 10 employees who understand their employee benefits extremely well are very satisfied with their benefits. The study cites two ways to increase an employee’s understanding of their benefits: providing total compensation statements and offering opportunities for employee education, including both group and one-on-one settings. Data showed that
- 81% of employees value in-person, one-on-one meetings
- 67% of employees value in-person group meetings
- 63% of employees value speaking with someone about their benefits over the phone
Overall, only 43% of employees are very satisfied with their benefits plan, and 19% say they are dissatisfied. Poor understanding leads to dissatisfaction, underutilization of benefits, and—for those who are participating—increased questions and potential errors. Ultimately, all the negatives start to add up, and poor perceptions of the benefit plan may result in retention issues. Therefore, offering options for employee benefits education can help to protect the employer’s investment in benefits.
For more details on the LIMRA study, please visit the following URL:
When & How to offer Benefits Education
Benefits education should be a part of your new employee onboarding, but what about for current employees? They know all they need to know, and if not, they have resources to help them, right? That is probably not a safe assumption. Most employees only think about benefits once a year, and even highly-educated people can have misconceptions about how the benefit plan actually works. Benefits education opportunities should be an essential element of a company’s annual renewal strategy. While enrollment deadlines should be covered, a benefits education meeting should focus on understanding and provide clear explanations of the plan options and changes from the prior year.
With our clients, we also like to cover best practices for using the plan and saving money on care. There are many simple practices that can add up to major savings. Overall, if the plan participants focus on saving money, it can help the plan save money on increases over time.
Then, throughout the year, share reminders about the plan. For example, if a company has an employee newsletter, it can feature a brief article on qualifying events or handling claims questions and reminders about where to find resources. Ongoing education helps to reduce confusion and reactive inquiries, which can reduce the time that your plan administrators spend handling questions and issues.
Technology Resources
Integrated technology platforms have simplified the process of benefits enrollment and reduced the likelihood of errors in the process. HRIS and benefits management platforms can be highly customizable to provide a wealth of resources to your employees, such as benefits summaries and decision guides, short educational videos, and on-demand access to plan information. However, as found in the LIMRA study, the most valued opportunities for employee engagement were those with a human touch, including one-on-one sessions and group meetings.
Remember, in the benefits arena, technology works best when paired with human support.
Confidential, one-on-one Support
Education in a group setting is a great way to start the conversation, but employees often have health or coverage questions they hesitate to ask publicly. Health and financial questions are highly sensitive and very important, and employees can feel embarrassed to discuss them with a fellow team member. When it comes to sensitive questions, employees value the opportunity to talk with a trusted subject matter expert who can help them evaluate their decisions.
With our clients, we offer an initial group meeting, then provide opportunities for employees to schedule a one-on-one consultation with a benefits expert.
Putting it all Together
To support your employees through each renewal cycle, which is another opportunity for them to make crucial decisions for their family, we recommend that you have the following elements as part of your strategy:
- Group Benefits Education to provide an overview and best practices
- 1:1 Decision Support for the employees who have questions
- Digital Resources for employees to access when they need them
- Ongoing Reminders to keep benefits and the available resources top of mind for employees
We want employees to feel confident when making benefits decisions. They don’t need to be experts, so we don’t need to overwhelm them with details, but we should help them know the resources that are available and whom to contact if they ever need help.
Better benefits education equips employees with the information they need and can help them feel more confident and satisfied with their benefits plan.
Have Questions?
If you’d like to discuss your benefits education strategy, please contact our team:
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