Millennials are not the only generation to prioritize cost inconsidering workplace health benefits.

In Xerox’s 2016 HealthCare Attitudes Survey,nearly 60 percent of Generation Xers said that, come enrollmentseason, cost is their top concern. That’s roughly equal to thepercentage of millennials who said the same.

More than any other generation, Gen Xers overwhelmingly saidthey were likely to shop around for carriers and health careproviders. And nearly half of Gen Xers said they have delayedtreatment to avoid out-of-pocket costs – a percentagenearly equal to younger millennials, who tend to earn less moneyand carry a higher debt-to-income ratio.

When developing voluntary benefits education and offerings forGen Xers, it is incumbent upon benefit brokers to understand thelarger financial complexities this demographic faces.

The bottom line is that Gen Xers - -the oldest of whom havealready hit 50 – is, by many measures, more financially strainedthan either millennials or baby boomers.

- Most were in the workforce by the time the technology bubbleburst in 2000; their household balance sheets were hit hardest whenthe real estate market crashed in 2008.

- As a cohort, they have more spenders than savers, comparedwith their younger and older counterparts, and they are the leastlikely of all the generations to have more savings than debt.

- For all of the attention given to millennial college debt,would you believe that Gen Xers actually carry more of it?And as boomers continue to retire, the oldest Gen Xers are reachinga point when retirement planning delays could have direconsequences.

- They also bear the distinction of being the SandwichGeneration — in other words, many Gen Xers will be financing someportion of their childrens’ higher education while also serving ascaretakers for their aging parents.

This complex financial picture explains why more Gen Xers aregravitating to consumer driven health care plans. Healthy Gen Xerswho can scale back unnecessary coverage and lower the cost oftraditional core medical plans show a great willingness to do so.BenefitFocus, a provider of cloud-based benefit administrationplatforms, found that, when given the choice, more than four in 10Gen Xers chooses a high-deductible plan over a traditional plan --a rate roughly equal to that of millennials.

Here are four facts that benefits brokers can consider whendesigning voluntary offerings for Gen X workers who needthem.

[Click through to read our 4 facts about Gen X workers usingthe navigation below.]

1) The majority of Gen Xers who need life insurancedon’t have it

Millions of Gen Xers know they aren’t carrying enough lifeinsurance. Their kids are growing older, and they themselves areapproaching or already in middle age. They have families and assetsto protect. They are old enough to be more prone tolife-threatening illness, but still young enough to be attractiveto underwriters. When incorporated into a targeted voluntarybenefits strategy, life insurance premiums can have a veryaccessible price tag.

In a LIMRA study last year, 56 percent of Gen Xers admitted to being underinsured when itcomes to life insurance, but only 20 percent said they werevery likely to buy the protection that most financial experts sayis essential for workers in their 40s and early 50s withfamilies.

Voluntary life insurance has high levels of participantpenetration, yet many Gen Xers continue to go without it. It’simportant, then, for brokers to highlight the essentials ofcarrying life insurance.

2) Gen Xers could benefit from financial wellnessprograms

Gen Xers are, by far, the most indebted generation. According tothe credit reporting agency Experian, the average Gen Xer has $125,000 in debt –including mortgages; credit cards; and auto, student, and personalloans. That’s more than double the debt load of the averagemillennial, and about 40 percent more than a baby boomer’s averagedebt of $87,000.

In 2012, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showedthat workers in their 30s held $321 billion in student debt-- nearly three times as much as in 2005 -- and workers in their40s held $168 billion -- three times more than in 2005.

What’s more, by some measurements, Gen Xers hold the highestlevels of student debt. Online credit management system providerCredit Sesame says that, among its clientele, average Gen X college debt is about $32,600,compared with it millennial members’ average, which is about$24,000.

Turnkey financial wellness programs offered by benefit providersand independent third-party providers have emerged as a tool tohelp employees manage debt burdens. Their proponents range fromeconomists to regulators and lawmakers. And more large employersare buying in.

These programs play an important role in the financial life ofall generations, say advocates. The Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB), a regulatory body created by the 2010 Dodd-Franklaw, has studied the efficacy of worksite financial wellnessprograms. The regulators say results are still preliminarysince the product is still in the early stages of its lifecycle,but evidence shows that financial wellness programs can create amore “satisfied, engaged and productive” workforce, according to a2014 CFPB study.

CFPB notes that 20 percent of all workers admitted they skippedwork to deal with a financial problem. Among Gen Xers, “stresslevels are even higher,” says CFPB. As they enter their peakearnings years, nearly one in three Gen Xers said personal financesdistract them at work. And more than half reported high levels ofstress in dealing with personal finances.

“Gen Xers may have more difficulty than other generationsfinding security in the future,” says CFPB

Before brokers start advocating for financial wellness programs,it’s important to first know what the market has to offer. Manycarriers with voluntary benefits have developed worksite wellnessprograms. Other providers have independently developedproducts.

3) Quality of worksite benefits a strong determinant of where GenXers work

About 80 percent of Gen Xers say the quality of health benefitofferings are a leading determinant in deciding where to work,according to a recent poll conducted by Collective Health.

Yet while they value comprehensive benefits solutions, many areconfused over how to build the best benefits strategy. In the samepoll, 70 percent of respondents (many of which are in Generation X)with children under the age of 18 report being overwhelmed by thegrowing breadth of available benefits options, underscoring theneed for a strategic broker and communication tailored to Gen Xersspecific needs.

4) Vision, dental, critical illness

For Gen Xers, the value of a consumer driven health care planwill, of course, depend on each individual’s and family’scircumstances. Employers offering a CDHP can improve their top linewhile providing a solution to workers’ financial challenges –particularly when those workers are healthy.

By lowering major medical premiums and supplementing withaffordable voluntary and ancillary coverage for vision, dental,disability and critical illness, employers can help their workersfree up cash to address debt or contribute more to a 401(k) plan.But a sensible strategy must not leave workers exposed to unseenout-of-pocket medical costs. Simply shifting the health care budgetto address other sources of financial stress will only compound theproblem if Gen Xers and their families lack adequate gapcoverage.

Many, if not lost Gen Xers, need help striking the appropriatebalance. More employers today understand that -- and theirawareness will only grow as workers in their 30s, 40s and early 50smove into management themselves.