Onereason employees may prioritize health care decisions overretirement is that they don't necessarily have a good understandingof the 401(k)s, (Photo: Shutterstock)

Despite the fact that the country is beset by a retirement crisis, with millions lacking enoughassets to be able to retire without running out of money down theline, that's not the top factor when workers consider thebenefits offered as part of a job offer.

In fact, according to survey data from Lively, Inc., thequestion of health—and its effects on their financial well-being—iscausing people to make many decisions that might not actually be intheir best interests. Not only are workers more inclined to chooseor remain in jobs based on health benefits rather than otherfactors (nearly 40 percent do so, while 76 percent rank healthbenefits in their top three priorities), they're postponing care,to their detriment, as well as placing retirement lower down intheir priorities.

Related: Help employees choose the right benefits to managehealth care costs in retirement

Employees don't necessarily have a good understanding of the 401(k)s that theythink are less important than health benefits, with less than 50percent saying they completely understand 401(k)s—and women areless conversant with them than men, at only 37 percent comparedwith 46 percent.

And they really don't get their health benefits, with less thanone out of three saying they understand their plan type. Some plantypes are far less well understood than others, such ashigh-deductible health plans (only 23 percent) and healthreimbursement accounts (less than 20 percent).

That said, employee financial wellness—and perhaps that lack ofunderstanding of their plans—plays a big role in whether workerseven use their health benefits to the best result. Only half ofadults get routine preventative care; men, married people andwealthier consumers predominate, with those who have children morelikely to go only when they themselves are sick. Younger adults andlower-income adults are likely to go only when somethingcatastrophic happens, such as a broken bone.

And three out of four are surprised by how high their medicalbills are when they do go. In addition, a third of workers aren'teven sure how much comes out of their paychecks for healthinsurance and out-of-pocket costs. According to the report, one infive employees is putting between 21 and 40 percent oftheir paycheck toward health care expenses.

Read more: 

• Employer-based health care hits poorer Americans'paychecks hardest
• Retirement saving and the Mañana Syndrome –Carosa
• Failure to address financial stress concernsthreatens retirement