The TSP was rated as important or extremely important by 96 percent. Image: Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA survey of federal employees has found that the TSP, retirement annuities and the FEHB health insurance program are the most highly valued benefits and that employees overall view them as meeting their needs and as providing a good value.
Those results from the 2021 Federal Employee Benefits Survey, recently released by the OPM, were consistent with prior versions of that survey, which is administered once every several years.
The TSP was rated as important or extremely important by 96 percent, retirement annuities (FERS or CSRS) by 95 percent, FEHB coverage in retirement by 93 percent and FEHB in general by 90 percent. Those were unchanged from 2019 except that the response regarding FEHB coverage in retirement increased by one point.
At the bottom again was dependent care flexible spending accounts, at 27 percent, up from 22 percent in 2019. That figure is held down by the fact that 35 percent said they are ineligible because they don’t have a qualifying dependent. Just above that was the FLTCIP long-term care insurance program, viewed as important or extremely important by 41 percent, down by one point from 2019.
Similarly, the FEHB was viewed as meeting needs to a great or moderate extent by 95 percent and the TSP by 93 percent; while the TSP was rated a good or excellent value by 87 percent and FEHB by 73 percent (since the survey went only to active employees they were not asked whether the FERS or CSRS annuities met their needs or were a good value). Those responses were either the same or within one point of the 2019 survey.
Also similar to past surveys, the FEHB was a moderate or great influence on 72 percent of respondents’ decisions to take a federal job and was even more influential in a decisions to remain with the government, cited as a moderate or great influence by 79 percent. The figures for availability of retirement annuities were 78 and 88 percent, and for the TSP 71 and 81 percent.
The survey also found consistency in why employees are not enrolled in optional benefit programs even though they are eligible. Coverage by similar other insurance was the most commonly cited reason among those not enrolled in the FEHB, FEGLI, and FEDVIP dental.
Among those not enrolled in FEDVIP vision or FLTCIP, though, the most commonly cited reason was that they didn’t consider the programs a good value. For health care flexible spending accounts, the most common reason was lack of desire to participate and for dependent care accounts it was ineligibility.
Among the only 2 percent not investing in the TSP, the most commonly cited reason was that they couldn’t afford it.
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