Surveys find gaps in employees’ financial support, disability coverage

The number of Canadians whose workplace benefits include disability coverage is falling, and few companies provide support for employees’ financial health, according to surveys released Tuesday.

Canadian workers spend an average of six hours every week worrying about financial matters, Mercer’s “2018 Global Talent Trends Study” says. Most companies aren’t doing much to address employees’ concerns, the study found, with only one-quarter (26%) offering policies to address financial health.

More Canadians are also finding themselves without employer support when it comes to disability coverage, a survey from RBC Insurance says. The percentage of Canadians whose workplace benefits include disability coverage has fallen to 48% from 57% in 2015.

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Most of those who aren’t covered haven’t bought their own coverage (84%), RBC says in a release, even though 68% of respondents said they would “face serious financial trouble” if they were unable to work for three months.

One-quarter (26%) of respondents without disability coverage said they couldn’t afford it.

A survey released earlier this month from Accenture found that more than three-quarters (78%) of North American employees and retirees with pension plans said the availability of those benefits was a major factor in deciding whether to accept a job.

Read: Canadian workers value pension benefits, planning help: survey

The RBC survey was conducted by Ipsos in early January from interviews with a sample of 1,505 employed Canadians over 18 years of age, with weighting used to balance demographics.

Read the full Mercer report, “2018 Global Talent Trends Study: Unlocking Growth in the Human Age” here.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.