Published by Mark Robb on December 4th, 2020

As a voluntary representative, I don’t think it’s any surprise that I believe voluntary benefits can be helpful for many companies and organizations. But I’ve found that, in some industries, voluntary benefits are particularly relevant.

Throughout much of my insurance career, I’ve done a lot of work with educators. In past positions, I’ve focused on offering group life and disability insurance, but I was always struck by the many workplaces and employees missing out on worksite voluntary benefits. Since joining Trustmark, I’ve learned a lot from their experience working with hundreds of educational institutions  and it’s convinced me, more than ever, that today voluntary benefits are critical for schools and their employees. Here’s why:



1.    The need for protection during a pandemic

As anyone with kids can tell you, children aren’t necessarily the most germ-conscious crowd. So, for any educators or staff in schools, there’s certainly an increased concern over contracting Coronavirus. And, even for the many educators who are working from home, like us all, they still have health concerns about the pandemic.
On top of that, many employees, while fearing for their health are also facing tight financial situations. Nearly 70 percent of Americans have less than $1000 in savings.1 Facing an uncertain working situation and an unprecedented health crisis where educators may be particularly at risk, supplemental voluntary coverage is crucial for physical and financial wellbeing.

2.    Recruitment and retention

With the need for protection higher than ever, I’m seeing the role of voluntary benefits in recruitment and retention becoming more important. This isn’t unique to the education industry, but the stats are telling; due to the pandemic, 75% of adults consider their employer’s benefits to be more important than ever before.2 
Every educational institution wants to attract and keep the best possible staff. In the kind of environment we face today, offering the option to supplement medical coverage with much-needed voluntary benefits will prove pivotal to that goal. 

3.    Educating the educators

Piggybacking on that last point, if you want employees to understand and appreciate benefits, you need to educate them. But schools specialize in educating students, not educating their staff about their benefits. That’s where voluntary benefits come in; a voluntary enrollment can help open the door to the tools and resources employees need not just to appreciate their benefits, but to help them choose the right protection for themselves and their families. Professional enrollment firms can be a value-add service that makes this education easy.

4.    Making the most of other programs or installing new ones

I can’t tell you how many schools I’ve seen with underutilized employee programs. Maybe a 401(k) program where employees aren’t taking full advantage of the employer’s matching contribution? Maybe a wellness program that never really took off? I’ve seen it all. The best part is that the communication and education we discussed above doesn’t have to focus just on benefits, you can also use that educational opportunity to boost participation in existing programs or even implement new ones.

5.    No extra costs for the school

From what I’ve seen, when it comes to schools, budgets are always a concern. One of the things that school administrators love about voluntary benefits is that they can be offered at no cost to the school. So, all of those benefits we’ve looked at, they come without a price tag for the school’s administration. School employees win because they get protection they want and need. Administrators win because they can improve protection without impacting the bottom-line.

6.    Billing done right

This point may be a little more exclusive to Trustmark and our expertise in working with educators specifically, but billing can be a challenge for schools. Being able to address that challenge will make life much easier on school staff since some carriers may struggle to accommodate a billing cycle that matches the typical school year (Fall through late spring). But, offering voluntary through a carrier that can do it right and, just as importantly, a carrier that will potentially consolidate billing with other carriers, can solve billing issues across the board.

We’ve seen it in case after case  - educators benefit tremendously from voluntary benefits. It’s about more than just the benefits protection too, it’s about providing solutions to save limited resources and solve challenges. In the environment we face today, where our educators are being asked to deal with so much, providing the right protection and the right resources is so critical. 

1 The Percentage of Americans With Less Than $1,000 in Savings Is Shocking. The Motley Fool. 2019.
2 Prudential Financial. Workers see more value in employee benefits as pandemic-era annual enrollment nears. August 2020.