Employees must pay a larger share of their own benefits costs and make benefits decisions that they never had to make before, according to Prudential Group Insurance. They must decide between benefits that impact their health or their wealth.

"The rising cost of health care is leading companies to shift more cost to employees, as well as to offer employees a robust menu of voluntary benefits to address key financial risks," said Stephen Pelletier, president of Prudential Group Insurance, who spoke at the company's annual benefits enrollment event in New York on Monday. "When it comes to making these decisions companies are providing more information and decision tools than ever to help employees make choices that meet both their shorter-term health and longer-term wealth protection needs."

Benefits experts at the event, including Dallas Salisbury, president of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI); James Klein, president of the American Benefits Council; and James Gemus, senior vice president of Group Life and Voluntary Benefits, Prudential Group Insurance, highlighted the need for consumers to take a balanced approach to choosing benefits to ensure they and their families are protected from the risk of premature death, disability and prolonged illness, all of which can have a devastating effect on a family's financial health.