Dive Brief:

• Fewer than half (46%) of all employees expect their personal financial situation to get better within the next year, according to MetLife’s 14th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study.
• While that's not a positive thing for employees, those same financial concerns may be driving employees to be more loyal, as 45% of employees report planning to work for their current employer a year from now, compared to 41% in last year's survey.
• The upside for employers is that loyalty is strong among all generations. 57% of baby boomers and 53% of both Generation X and millennials say they are committed to their current employer’s goals.

Dive Insight

Todd Katz, executive vice president, Group, Voluntary & Worksite Benefits, at MetLife, explained that employees, particularly millennials, are looking to their employers for help when it comes to figuring out financial matters. In fact, 44% of millennials say they want employer help in solving their financial concerns, which was more than double that of boomers (20%). Similarly, 75% of millennials say their employers have a responsibility for the financial well-being of their employees.

Katz also notes that employees have grown increasingly interested in workplace benefits as a means of obtaining financial support, as 62% of employees say they’re looking to their employer for more help in achieving financial security through employee benefits, compared to 49% in 2011.

With less than half (44%) of employees feeling in control of their finances, employers today have a great opportunity to drive even higher loyalty and retention by empowering employees to make informed benefits decisions through targeted communications. For example, despite the perception that younger employees prefer technology, the MetLife study shows that 68% of millennials prefer one-on-one consultations with a benefits expert, compared to 62% of Gen X and 57% of baby boomers.