Benefit pros: Let’s address public servants’ wage & insurance challenges with voluntary benefits & solutions

From teachers and librarians to social workers, mail carriers, and first responders, nearly 22 million Americans are employed by federal, state, or local government. (1)

When many people hear “government job,” good pay and benefits often come to mind. And while there’s some truth to that, I can say after 17 years in the employee benefits industry, it often isn’t so simple.

That’s because many #publicsector workers who dedicate their careers to helping others have limited income potential, insurance gaps, or they take on great personal risk in their day-to-day jobs.

The average monthly wage among public workers is $5,800. (1) And while this is certainly higher than many private sector wages, #costofliving increases and #inflation make it difficult for families to cover their essential expenses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household spends $6,080 each month on housing and other monthly expenses, (2) meaning some public sector workers struggle to make ends meet.

Many people assume all government workers have good #healthinsurance, but the truth is municipalities and schools often struggle to offer great benefits while also managing a shoestring budget. For example, the average monthly premium teachers pay for health insurance has increased 45% since 2018. Meanwhile, the cost of living increased by 17% and teacher salaries increased by just 10% in the same time frame, according to National Council on Teacher Quality. (3) This means that health insurance premiums and the general cost of living are increasing faster than educators’ pay raises.

In addition to pay and insurance gaps, first responders like firefighters, police officers, and paramedics face dangerous situations every day, such as house fires, car accidents, and burglaries. Not only does this expose workers to risk of bodily injury, but it’s estimated that 30% of first responders have developed behavioral health conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (4)

The reality is many public servants are one missed paycheck or unexpected expense away from financial distress, making #voluntarybenefits, such as accident insurance, critical illness insurance, cancer insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance crucial for these workers.

These financial protection products can help employees seek medical care when they need it, while helping to safeguard them from the financial impact of critical illness, injury, or loss of life. Direct cash benefits can help protect employees from draining savings, dipping into retirement accounts, and filing for bankruptcy due to a medical condition.

In addition, voluntary benefits are typically considered to be very affordable for employers and employees. For example, many workers can get critical illness insurance for less than $10 a paycheck. (5)

Unfortunately, the nature of the public sector often makes disseminating voluntary benefits difficult.

Municipalities, counties, and public services usually have a large variety of departments and a vast array of occupations within them that don’t openly communicate amongst one another about employee benefit matters.

Many public employees don’t work at a desk or have access to computers at work to get information about benefits. Certain services operate 24 hours a day with employees coming and going around the clock, making it difficult to hold meetings about benefits. And public schools aren’t open year-round, leaving teachers and staff without benefits support for part of the year.

The nature of the public sector and limited HR communication channels leave many employees with unanswered questions and limited understanding about the scope of their benefits. Workers are often left to make benefit decisions on their own, outside of work, on self-service platforms without professional guidance. Many workers will waive voluntary benefits on a self-service platform if they don’t understand what the products are and how they can help.

With these points in mind, here are four solutions that can help benefit professionals effectively reach public sector workers about their #employeebenefits.

1. COMMUNICATION

#Benefitscommunication should be a proactive, year-round endeavor, not just in advance of open enrollment. That’s because the more employees know about and understand their choices, the more likely they are to use and value them.

Targeted delivery channels based on employee preferences are essential in a public sector environment where many workers have different schedules or don’t have computers. Whether through emails, texts, webinars, printed materials, or online resources, it’s important to communicate with employees in a manner that will reach them when they’re available.

2. ?NEW HIRE EDUCATION

To help new hires make smart decisions about their benefits, before their first day of work they should receive an overview of the benefit offerings and a list of considerations to think about before it’s time to enroll.? This will give them time to write down questions they may have about their unique circumstances, which should be answered during a one-on-one conversation with a benefits educator.

Keep in mind that when it comes to benefits, “onboarding” should be more than just a one-day orientation.? Employers should check in a few months after enrollment to see if new employees have questions about their plan, and then proceed with ongoing communication.

3. GUIDED ONSITE ENROLLMENT

Rather than pushing employees to sign up for benefits on their own via self-service platforms, enrollment should take place onsite with help from benefit specialists. For example, Nick Barattini, Field Vice President at Optavise, shares, “Onsite benefit specialists from our Optavise Career Agency have allowed municipalities of all shapes and sizes to effectively enroll core benefits and special initiatives, while also adding voluntary products to their menu of benefit options.”

?4. ADVOCACY

Ongoing #benefitsadvocacy helps ensure employees are maximizing their coverage, which is especially important for public sector employees who are on budgets, navigating coverage gaps, or at high risk of injury.

Knowledgeable and experienced advocates can answer benefits questions, provide procedural cost and quality reports, explain employees’ out-of-pocket costs, and resolve claims issues, helping employees make better decisions about their care.

#Optavise provides these solutions plus voluntary benefits to many municipalities and school districts across the United States. Our team is seasoned in helping public sector employees sign up for and utilize the benefits they need.?

Are you an employee benefits professional who works with the public sector?

Are you looking for a benefits partner that can help you overcome the challenges of these groups? Be sure to drop your questions and comments below, or feel free to message me. You can also check out https://www.optavise.com/ for information about our innovative approach to employee benefits.

(1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/999001.htm, 2024.

(2) Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures—2022, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cesan.pdf, 2023.

(3) National Council on Teacher Quality, Affording to stay healthy: The costs of health insurance for teachers, https://www.nctq.org/blog/Affording-to-stay-healthy:-The-costs-of-health-insurance-for-teachers, 2024.

(4) Relief Mental health, First Responders and Mental Health: How We Can Support our Firefighters, Police Officers, and Emergency Medical Personnel, https://reliefmh.com/blog/first-responders-mental-health/, 2024.

(5) Forbes, Critical Illness Insurance: What Is It And How Does It Work?, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/critical-illness-insurance/, 2024.