Dive Brief:
- Vision benefits may not always have the visibility of other employee benefits, but they deliver high engagement with employees, according to Employee Benefits News. Therefore, it may be a good idea for employers to ensure their advisors are sharing the right info about vision benefits.
- Eight in 10 people chose to enroll in employer-sponsored vision plans, according to the 2016 annual Employee Perceptions of Vision Benefits survey conducted by Wakefield Research (on behalf of Transitions Optical). The research also found vision is the only benefit to experience a year-over-year increase, EBN says.
- Jonathan Ormsby, strategic account manager with Transitions Optical told EBN that so-called ancillary benefits such as vision may be seen as a more immediate need than retirement plans or some medical benefits.
Dive Insight:
Citing the correlation between a strong benefits package and recruiting, Ormsby told EBN that nearly a third of survey respondents said either they or someone they know accepted a job in the last year with a competitive benefits package being the deciding factor. One in five note that vision is the "most appealing" element of the overall package.
The survey also found that employees expect more flexibility regarding their vision plan coverage. Forty-one percent say it is very important (and 46% say it is somewhat important) to have premium materials covered, including high-cost features such as impact resistant polycarbonate lenses, photochromic lenses, anti-reflective treatment and others.
The survey was done with sponsorship by an optical lens company, but other studies have shown the increased importance of benefits packages in a job seeker's market.
