Age and gender are heavily contributing factors to which employee benefits workers would choose, if the choice were up to them.

Read: How to match voluntary benefits to boomers, Gen Xers, and millennials

That’s according to research from MassMutual that found that the generation they belong to, and their gender, make workers’ choices of benefits complicating factors for their employers.

While, overall, 47 percent of American workers age 18 and older prefer more vacation time, with 44 percent preferring better 401(k) matches, when you break it down further that’s not necessarily how it plays out.

Read: Enrollment best practices by generation

Boomers and millennials, for instance, would prefer more time off from work, while GenXers want better retirement benefits.

And while men would definitely go for that time off, women would rather have better quality health benefits.

But that doesn’t mean it’s all about one thing or another.

While 50 percent of boomers said they wanted more time off, after that it’s all about money and health:

43 percent want better 401(k) matches
43 percent want health care coverage expanded
38 percent say health care coverage should be free
24 percent want a greater range of investment choices for their retirement plans

Millennials, on the other hand, may agree on the vacation time issue but then diverge from boomers’ choices:

43 percent want flexible work schedules
30 percent want tuition/education reimbursement

GenXers, meanwhile, agreed with boomers on wanting better 401(k) matches (47 percent) and after that would like to have more vacation days (44 percent).

Women are looking for better benefits packages in general, considering how their choices spread out:

44 percent wanted more vacation time
40 percent opted for better 401(k) matches and for flexible work schedules
37 percent wanted to see expanded health care premiums
31 percent wanted free gym memberships (31 percent)

They aren’t as interested as men in a broader range of investment options within their retirement plans (18 percent of men wanted that, compared with just 11 percent of women).

Instant Insights /

Generation and gender influence employee benefit preferences

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