Payroll Integrations has released part two of its 2024 State of Employee Financial Wellness Report, revealing the administrative burden HR teams face and its impact on employee benefit education. The report highlights how employers’ HR priorities affect benefit engagement and financial wellness.
- HR Teams’ Administrative Burden:
- HR teams spend on average 12 hours per week on payroll and benefits tasks.
- 27% of HR managers report spending 20 hours or more on these tasks.
- This overload limits HR from focusing on strategic work like educating employees on company benefits.
- Impact on Employee Benefit Education:
- 73% of employees express a need for more education on benefits.
- The lack of education leads to lower participation in key benefits like HSAs, FSAs, and retirement plans.
- Generational Differences in Benefit Education:
- Millennials (31%) feel most educated on benefits, followed by Gen X + Y (26%), Boomers (25%), and Gen Z (24%).
- Gen Z, although least educated on benefits, contributes the highest percentage to retirement savings.
- Employee Participation in Benefits:
- Employees who feel educated are 3x more likely to participate in HSAs, FSAs, and financial planning.
- 70% of employees who are well-educated on benefits engage in retirement savings, versus 52% of those who are not.
- Challenges with Payroll and Benefits Errors:
- 50% of employees report that payroll or benefit mistakes take over a week to correct.
- HR teams are increasingly relying on technology to minimize manual errors, with 79% saying it reduces errors in payroll and benefits.
Payroll Integrations’ 2024 report underscores the need for better automation in HR processes to reduce administrative burdens and enhance employee benefit education. Prioritizing benefit education can significantly increase employee participation and overall financial wellness.
