Nearly one-half (46%) of workers are not confident they have enough
savings for their future or to see them through a period of time out of
work due to illness or injury, Unum finds in its sixth annual survey of
working Americans.
The online survey of 1,521 working adults, conducted in December 2013 by
Harris Poll on behalf of Unum, finds that one-third (34 percent) don’t
feel financially secure. The youngest workers (ages 18-34) and
pre-retirees (ages 55-64) are least likely to feel secure, with 41
percent of young people and 37 percent of pre-retirees reporting they do
not feel financially secure.
“We are in a post-recession environment and many working Americans are
still struggling with anxiety over their finances,” said Barbara Nash,
vice president of corporate research for Unum
(NYSE:UNM). “Between stagnating wages and health insurance costs rising,
many employees may not feel appreciated by their employers.”
Employers can play an important role in helping their employees feel
more financially secure, however, by offering important benefits like disability
insurance and by communicating the value of these benefits as
clearly as possible. Unum’s research shows that employees who rate their
employer and benefits package positively tend to have a brighter
financial outlook. Eight in 10 employees (83 percent) who rated their
benefits package as excellent or very good also say they are financially
secure.
Offering these benefits appears to have a payoff for employers as well.
There is a positive relationship between an employee’s rating of their
employer as a place to work and their feelings of financial security,
with those who rate their employer as an excellent or very good place to
work reporting significantly higher feelings of financial security (79%
reporting they feel financially secure) than those who rate their
employer as fair or poor (41%).
“When employers invest in their workforce by offering a comprehensive
benefits package that includes financial protection benefits, employees
are more likely to feel valued, which may contribute to an increase in
overall morale,” Nash added.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll
on behalf of Unum from December 18-20, 2014 among 3,031 adults ages 18
and older, 1,521 of whom are identified as working adults that are
full-time, part-time, or self-employed. This online survey is not based
on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology,
including weighting variables, please contact Dawn McAbee at dmcabee@unum.com.
About Unum
Unum
is a leading provider of financial protection benefits through the
workplace. The disability insurance leader in the U.S. for 38 years,
Unum’s portfolio of financial protection products also includes life,
accident and critical illness, which help protect millions of working
people and their families in the event of an illness or injury. In 2013,
Unum paid $5.5 billion in benefits to nearly 492,000 individuals and
their families.
For more information visit us at www.unum.com
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Copyright Business Wire 2014