Industry Update

Prudential Financial Survey Finds Voluntary Benefits a Powerful Tool in Employee Retention

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 2002--Prudential Financial, Inc. released the results of a new study of 20,000 households, which looked at how having voluntary benefits at work increases employees' loyalty to their employer. Loyalty is viewed as a key driver of employee retention. The majority of employees (84%) agree that offering voluntary products is an important way for companies to retain talent.

"We're seeing a strong relationship between length of employment and participation in voluntary benefits," said Tom Martorana, chief operating officer of Prudential WorkingSolutions(SM). "Participation in voluntary benefits is greatest among employees with five or more years of service, and there's a pronounced increase as employees pass the 3-5 year mark, across all types of occupations."

The study also reveals that when offered, voluntary benefits purchase rates among employees, even across different company types, can be impressive, ranging from two-thirds for dental, half for vision and supplemental life, and one in five for auto, homeowners, and legal care insurance. Martorana adds that payroll deduction, group pricing and/or discounts, and ease and convenience make voluntary benefits attractive enough to influence decisions to take jobs and remain with an employer.

Employers agree. According to Terry Erbert, Director of Benefits for Blockbuster Inc., "Balancing work-life issues in today's workplace is a continual challenge and Blockbuster is always looking for innovative and reliable options. In 2001, Blockbuster implemented the Prudential WorkingSolutions program to support our goal of being an employer of choice and provide additional options to our employees. Since that time, Blockbuster has offered additional WorkingSolutions benefits each quarter. To date, employee response to the program has been extremely positive. I believe these offerings have made life a little less complicated for our employees and appear to have produced a beneficial effect on employee satisfaction."

Designed for companies with more than 1,000 employees, WorkingSolutions features integrated information, education, planning and advisory resources along with convenient access to competitively priced insurance, banking and real estate products and services. Companies who want to explore how voluntary benefits can help them meet their employment demands can contact WorkingSolutions at 1-888-213-7921 for more information and a copy of the study results.