Benefits Enrollment Increasingly Going Paperless

March 18, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The past five years have witnessed a 165% growth rate in the proportion of employees that use some combination of Web-based technology to enroll in their benefits, according to a new study from The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

Forty percent of employees enrolled via computer only versus 12% five years ago, and 36% used paper only to enroll versus 58% five years ago, The Guardian said in a press release. Twenty-one percent of respondents report that they used a combination of paper and computer, compared to 11% five years ago.      

Overall, 61% of employees say they used computer-based enrollment for some portion of their employee benefits enrollment. Among those most (92%) cite convenience as the top reason they access their benefits online.       

Eighty-seven percent said online access to benefits saves time, and 73% said it gives them more control.  

While not the top choice, the environment was mentioned by 67% of employees as an important reason for accessing their benefits online. Women (75%) were more likely than men (61%) to value the environmental benefits of online enrollment.       

Benefits & Behavior: Spotlight on Technology and Enrollment presents the findings of a telephone survey of 342 full-time employed respondents, of whom 186 were men and 156 were women.        

The Guardian recently launched a campaign to boost use of its self-service benefits Web site, Guardian Anytime (see Guardian Promotes Web Site Use).

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