Lost in translation: How to help employers and employees understand open enrollment

November 17, 2021 5:30 AM

Advisers, employers and employees all want the same thing: Benefits plans that provide the best support possible.

But without an intimate understanding of benefits-industry terms and jargon, employers and employees can often feel left in the dark. That puts extra weight on advisers to present clear, concise information that can guide organizations to the best outcomes.

“When partners bring us in, it’s not as much for benefits as it is for communication and education,” says Eric Silverman, founder of Voluntary Disruption, a benefits advisory. “The journey is the most important part. The destination is an employee picking their plan.” Here are three ways advisers can make that journey a little less fraught.

Words matter

“The term ‘voluntary’ is just silly,” Silverman says of “voluntary benefits,” which can include everything from disability and life insurance to pet insurance and student loan support. “The whole point of these benefits is that they’re incredibly important to employees and their families.”

Referring to them as voluntary (or worse, ancillary) diminishes the value, Silverman says. Instead, he and his team have taken to calling them “enhanced” benefits, and in turn have seen employer groups immediately grasp the intention.

“All it’s doing is supporting the major medical,” he says. “Enhanced benefits exist to make it even stronger.”

Ditch the acronyms

Like most industries, benefits leans on its own kind of language and lingo — one that’s packed with acronyms that can leave the average employer or employee scratching their heads.

“A broker will stand up in front of an audience, hold up a brochure, and start talking about HSAs, FSAs, LTC and LTD,” Silverman says. “It’s alphabet soup! Employees don’t want to feel dumb so they don’t ask questions. The broker thinks they did a kickass job, and a week later the HR exec is baffled because no one signed up for the HSA plan.”

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Instead, focus on clarity. Call the HSA a Health Savings Account, Silverman says, and explain its value plainly: It’s a place to save pre-tax dollars to be used on medical expenses.

Explain the nuances

If employees are told a policy is guaranteed issue, they may think they’re covered — no matter what. But that might not always be the case, Silverman says.

Guaranteed issue means that a group of workers can enroll in a plan regardless of health status and other factors — but the insurance provider may still be able to decline coverage based on pre-existing conditions, depending on the terms of the contract.

“This frustrates the ever-loving crap out of employees, employers and HR people, because it’s not explained and nobody understands it,” Silverman says. “Advisers have to go out of our way to make it crystal clear that there’s a big difference.”