Employers are increasingly offering voluntary benefits packages as a cost-saving measure. Educating employees — especially those in the millennial generation — of these benefits should be a priority for brokers and employers, however.

That's according to The Standard (the marketing arm of Standard Insurance Company). According to the organization's new white paper on the topic, "Educate and Engage: Connecting with Millennials About the Importance of Disability Protection," a negative side effect of shifting traditionally employer-paid benefits, including long-term disability insurance, to employees as a voluntary offering is that employees can choose not to elect coverage and work through a disabling illness or injury. This can translate into lost productivity and increased health care costs. 

This is true moreso for the Millennial generation, many of whom feel they are invincible to injury or illness. As the report states, these "invincibles" are prone to the same types of serious injuries and illnesses as their Generation X and Baby Boomer colleagues. Some of the top claims among this group include: mental health diagnoses, cancer and musculoskeletal disorders.