LIMRA Research Head explains the growing market opportunity for in-plan guarantees and the role of education.

Following the recent passing of the SECURE Act 2.0, the financial services industry expects greater adoption of in-plan guarantees in late 2023 and 2024. In-plan guarantees are plan designs offered by employers that can convert retirement savings into a stream of guaranteed income payments during retirement. Designs of in-plan guarantees include annuities inside a target date fund (TDF), a stand-alone annuity product, and annuity options outside of the plan but linked to it. Educating advisors, plan sponsors, and employees on the value of in-plan annuities will affect their acceptance.

In recent years, more Americans realize the importance of holistic wellness. In the workplace, employees look to their employers for wellness offerings to reduce financial, emotional and physical stress. According to LIMRA research, 74% of employees who experience a high degree of financial pressure believe employers should offer programs to address this particular stressor. Employees with moderate financial stress and those with no/very little stress also agree.

With the COVID-19 vaccination rate up and the number of deaths significantly declining, only 1 in 5 adults are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the virus today, according to LIMRA’s October Consumer Sentiment in the Time of COVID-19 study. In the research, more than 3 in 5 adults say their lives are largely back to what they were like before the pandemic ― going from 31% in January to 62% in October.

Long-term care involves services, both medical and non-medical, provided to people who cannot perform basic activities of daily living such as dressing or bathing. People receive long-term support and services at home, in the community, or in a facility. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years.

What do you get when modernized Long Term Care Insurance products meet changing workplace needs and employee attitudes? An advantageous opportunity to grow your business, reach the middle market, and help protect more families from potential LTC needs.

Worksite benefits have long been a critical tool in helping employers attract top talent. What’s changed is that more employers want a variety of products to build benefit packages that are as diverse as today’s workforce – and there’s room for LTCi in this conversation.

Sure, you’ll face some challenges from decision-makers, but clearing hurdles is nothing new for seasoned LTC professionals. Here are three common objections that you can address with employers to change the way they think about LTCi.

For the second consecutive quarter, annuity sales reached new heights. In the third quarter 2022, total annuity sales were $79.6 billion, a 27% jump from prior year results, according to preliminary results from LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.

New annualized premium for workplace life insurance, disability insurance, and supplemental health products increased in the second quarter, according to LIMRA’s workplace benefits sales surveys.

“After a sluggish first quarter, sales for workplace life and disability insurance products experienced solid growth in the second quarter,” said Patrick Leary, corporate vice president, and director of LIMRA workplace benefits research. “Despite inflationary concerns, the awareness among employees of the need for insurance coverage remains even after their concerns about COVID-19 have waned, which helps explain the continued growth in certain voluntary products.”

LIMRA estimates 86 million employees could have access to new insurance benefits within 2 years

Facing a historically tight job market, many employers are looking to bolster their workplace benefits to attract new talent and retain their existing workforce. In a LIMRA survey of U.S. private employers with 10 or more employees, 60% said they are considering adding a new insurance benefit within the next two years ― roughly double the interest employers expressed five years ago.

Join Chief Marketing Officer and Partner at Chalice Connect, Whitney Kendrick, along with Senior PEO Sales Consultant at Paychex/Oasis, Maria Petroni, for a Business Performance Center webinar on Thursday, September 22 at 12 pm eastern.

In this webinar, Whitney and Maria will give you an overview of the Chalice Connect Marketplace, and how it can help your business navigate and save on new benefits such as health insurance, travel options, and succession planning - especially timely with open enrollment periods opening up soon!

Chalice Connect is one of the Business Performance Center's newest partners, and also an affinity discount partner for our NAIFA Members. This webinar is free to attend and will teach you how to access their marketplace, which can save your firm, agency, or practice time and money.

In today’s tight job market, companies are focused on how to differentiate themselves to attract and retain the best talent. There has been a lot of attention on salaries and hybrid work arrangements but how do employee benefits figure into the equation?