The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released the results of the 2013 Federal Employee Benefits Survey. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) was rated as one of the top benefits available to federal employees as well as the program with the highest enrollment among the federal workforce.
The other top programs with the highest levels of enrollment were the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI). The Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS) was one of the lowest ranking programs in terms of participation. The complete list of programs by enrollment is included in the table below.
| Benefit Program | Enrolled |
|---|---|
| Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) | 94.2% |
| Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) | 82.1% |
| Life Insurance (FEGLI) | 73.1% |
| FEDVIP: Dental | 48.5% |
| FEDVIP: Vision | 37.5% |
| Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAFEDS) | 23.3% |
| Long-term care insurance (FLTCIP) | 6.7% |
| I do not participate in any of these benefits. | 0.6% |
Reasons for not enrolling in FSAFEDS varied, but one of the most commonly stated reasons was because employees felt it was not beneficial for them. Another common explanation was that employees simply did not wish to participate. OPM said that since many employees felt the program was not beneficial, this was an indication that federal workers need to be better educated on the benefits of the program to try to increase enrollment in the future.
The TSP and FEHB were also rated highest in terms of which available benefits programs best met the employees’ needs and provided the most value for the money. FSAFEDS and the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) ranked at the bottom in these categories.
In terms of which programs provided the most value for their money, the scores generally followed the same patterns as in other categories, however the dental program was given a much lower score in this category than it was in others. 16% of respondents said it was a poor value for the money.
The complete survey results are included below.
2013 Federal Employee Benefits Survey Results
