Benefits for a changing landscape

Benefits for a changing landscape It may not be easy to predict times like these. But it can be easy to prepare for them.

Employee benefits are more important than ever. Our financial foundations have shifted. Costs are up across the board. Our ability to save has taken a hit, and new challenges are on the horizon.

Employee benefits like disability, critical illness and accident coverage make all the difference when people need them most. For more than 160 years, benefits solutions have been our business. Understanding the needs of the people who rely on them and the businesses that offer them is at the heart of what we do.

Why financial protection benefits matter more than ever

  • We've got work to do

More of us expect to work longer. The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, published by Employee Benefits Research Institute, found that 37 percent of people expect to work after age 65, as compared to 24 percent in 2007 and 18 percent in 2002.

In addition, 26 percent of workers said they expect to be 70 or older when they retire and another 7 percent said they would never retire.

  • We're saving less

Some 60 percent of workers in the same survey said they had less than $25,000 in household savings, while 34 percent said they had pulled money out of savings to pay for basic expenses.

Only 52 percent said they felt even somewhat confident that they would have enough money to live comfortably through their retirement years.

  • We've lost ground

Homes in the United States were expected to lose more than $681 billion in value during 2011, according to Zillow analysis.1 That loss is 35 percent less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010. And it is the lowest loss recorded during the last five years.

  • We're paying more for health care, but getting less

Medical costs continue to rise and employees are footing more of the bill. Since 2001, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums have increased by 113 percent, placing increasing cost burdens on employers and workers, according to a 2011 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.2

  • And that trend is here to stay

Nearly 80 percent of employers expected to offer consumer-driven health plans with high deductibles by 2012, according to a 2010 Towers Watson survey.3

Why benefits from Unum

Financial protection benefits from Unum help protect what matters most when you need it most. Disability, critical illness and accident coverage can help cover the costs of injury and illness, providing crucial financial support during times of uncertainty.

In 2011, Unum paid more than $6 billion in benefits to our customers. More than 20 million people at 170,000 companies count on Unum benefits — including 37 percent of Fortune 500 companies.

Find out more about what we do, who we are and how we can help you stay ready for what's next.
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References:
1. The data in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports is aggregated from public sources by a number of data providers for 157 Metropolitan Statistical Areas dating back to 1996. Mortgage and home loan data is typically recorded in each county and publicly available through a county recorder's office.
2. 2011 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS).
3. Rethinking Employer Strategies in a Post-Health Reform World, December 1, 2010.