Weaving a sturdy financial safety net has become increasingly elusive for today's workforce. Consider the many recent college graduates who struggle to balance the high cost of rent with enormous student loan debt. Young families who allocate large portions of income toward daycare while at the same time save for their children's education. And middle-aged employees constantly searching for ways to fund sky-rocketing college tuition while also caring for aging parents.

Generous health insurance coverage and retirement savings plans, both long-time pillars of an employer's suite of benefits, are now just table stakes and are no longer adequate to address ever increasing costs. Today's employers are looking for ways to reduce employee stress, improve financial wellness and enhance benefits packages—all while catering to the needs of a diverse and multi-generational workforce.

Personal legal matters and identity theft can happen to anyone, regardless of age, demographics, income or education level. Adding a group legal or identity theft protection benefit enables employers to address the needs of their entire workforce and create a positive impact on financial wellness and peace of mind alike. These benefits can also be a key differentiator for recruiting new employees and retaining existing talent.

A 2019 Echo Research study, commissioned by LegalShield, assessed and evaluated workplace perceptions of voluntary legal services and identity protection plans. Two overarching themes emerged from the study:

Employers are committed to improving the financial wellness of their workforce. The survey revealed that 37 percent of employers that offer or would consider legal services and online identity protection cited improvement of their employees' financial well-being as the primary reason to include them in their benefits package.
Employees have a significant interest in financial benefits, legal services and identity theft protection. Roughly half of employee respondents believed their employer should offer online identity protection (51 percent) and a legal services plan (49 percent) to their benefits package. Moreover, 61 percent agree that these plans increase their financial well-being.

Attorneys' fees inhibit many employees from hiring legal counsel to assist with Will creation, document review, credit fraud or bankruptcy proceedings. On top of the potentially high cost of legal services, many simply do not know how to find a qualified and experienced attorney to help with their specific legal matter. A legal plan provides employees affordable access to legal services, saving the employee not only money, but also offering peace of mind as well.

When an employee is suddenly facing a legal issue—expected or not—being able to contact an attorney directly through a mobile app provides a sense of comfort and control. Additionally, using a qualified attorney resolves a case at a very low monthly cost, spares the employee the time and aggravation of trying to resolve the matter on their own, and most often leads to a much better outcome for the employee.

Similar to the increased legal needs met by today's workforce, identity theft continues to be a growing concern for employees. In today's world of escalating cyber warfare and "dark web" activity, it is no longer a question of "if" an employee's data will be breached but "when."

Many identity theft protection plans provide monitoring services only. Unfortunately, these plans often stop far short of providing the restoration services most victims need, causing employees themselves to spend time and resources repairing the damage and restoring their identity. Employees need access to certified experts trained to fully restore a victim to pre-theft status. Fortunately, there are now options for employers to provide this valuable benefit to its workforce.

Employees realize the value in legal services and identity theft protection plans. These plans, that address the needs of the entire workplace population, also help employers improve financial wellness.

Emily B. Rose is the SVP of Sales for LegalShield's Business Solutions Division. She has more than 15 years of experience in the voluntary benefits space, including group legal plans, identity theft protections plans, supplemental health and property and casualty.

Instant Insights /

The role of legal and identity protection plans in improving financial wellness

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