The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released the results of the 2023 Federal Employee Benefits Survey (FEBS) which provides insight onto what federal employees think of the benefits available to them.
The survey focused on these benefit programs:
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
- Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program
- Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)
- Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) – Dental
- Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) – Vision
- Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) through FSAFEDS
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) through FSAFEDS
- Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)
- Paid Parental Leave (PPL)
The 2023 FEBS was administered from October 17, 2023, through November 17, 2023, to a sample size of 100,000 federal employees. After the survey invitations were sent via email, the final sample size ended up being 97,361 due to emails that bounced.
Out of these 97,361 federal employees, 20,598 completed the survey for a 21% response rate. This is down from 27% in 2021 but equal to the 2019 FEBS response rate.
Enrollment Rates
The benefit programs with the greatest participation are the TSP and FEHB, followed by FEGLI, dental (FEDVIP) and vision (FEDVIP).
| Benefit Program | 2021 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| TSP | 98% | 98% |
| FEHB | 84% | 81% |
| FEGLI | 79% | 78% |
| FEDVIP Dental | 73% | 75% |
| FEDVIP Vision | 61% | 63% |
| HCFSA | 30% | 30% |
| FLTCIP | 13% | 9% |
| DCFSA | 9% | 9% |
Reasons Federal Employees Did Not Enroll in Benefit Programs
The table below from the FEBS report shows the most common reasons cited by federal employees for not enrolling in particular benefit programs.
| Benefit Program | Percent not enrolled in each program | Most frequently reported reason for not enrolling in each program |
|---|---|---|
| DCFSA | 91% | This program is not applicable to me (do not have an eligible dependent (34%) |
| FLTCIP | 70% | I do not have enough information about the program/not aware of the program (35%) |
| HCFSA | 70% | I am concerned that I will not spend the money during the benefit period and will have to forfeit the remaining funds (19%) |
| FEDVIP Vision | 37% | I do not think it is a good value (20%); I am not currently in need of vision care (20%) |
| FEDVIP Dental | 25% | I am enrolled in a dental insurance program outside of FEDVIP (33%) |
| FEGLI | 23% | I have life insurance outside of FEGLI (33%) |
| FEHB | 19% | I have other health insurance (81%) |
| TSP | 2% | Other (33%) |
Adequacy and Value Ratings for FEHB and TSP
The survey asked federal employees to rate the extent to which the benefit meets their needs (adequacy) and the value of the benefits received for the amount of money paid for them. Overall, respondents gave the two programs excellent ratings for adequacy.
Ratings for value were lower, particularly for FEHB, and have decreased from the 2021 FEBS. The survey results do not offer any explanation as to why this may be, but it could be due to the rapidly rising costs of health insurance and health care which drive up FEHB premiums. Even with higher costs, the federal government still pays for about 70% of the total cost of federal employees’ health insurance.
Adequacy Ratings
| 2021 Meets Needs to a Great or Moderate Extent | 2023 Meets Needs to a Great or Moderate Extent | |
|---|---|---|
| FEHB | 95% | 94% |
| TSP | 93% | 90% |
Value Ratings
| 2021 Excellent or Good Value | 2023 Excellent or Good Value | |
|---|---|---|
| FEHB | 73% | 66% |
| TSP | 87% | 82% |
Higher paid federal employees were more likely to rate the benefit programs as meeting their needs and having good value as were older generations (Baby Boomers and Traditionalists).
Changing FEHB Plans
40% of respondents said that they had considered changing their FEHB plans within the past five years. Most said they wanted to find plans with lower premiums or deductibles. The table below shows the responses given.
| Reason for Considering Changing Plan | Percent Selected |
|---|---|
| Wanted a plan with a lower monthly premium | 56% |
| Wanted a plan with a lower copayment/coinsurance | 41% |
| Wanted a plan with a lower deductible/no deductible | 38% |
| Wanted a plan offering better quality health care | 27% |
| Wanted specific benefit coverage that was not offered by my previous plan | 23% |
| Had a qualifying life event (marriage, divorce, birth of a child, etc.) | 15% |
| Preferred healthcare provider(s) was not covered by my previous plan | 12% |
| Moved to a new location | 7% |
| Other | 7% |
When it comes to choosing an FEHB plan, survey respondents said that cost was by far the biggest factor in the decision. These were the most common factors cited by federal employees with respect to choosing their FEHB plans:
| Factors | Percent Selected |
|---|---|
| Total out of pocket costs (deductibles, premiums, copays, etc.) | 81% |
| The providers that participate in the plan network | 48% |
| Prescription drug costs | 40% |
| Cost of primary care doctor office visits | 40% |
| Coverage for specific health conditions | 24% |
| Quality ratings | 16% |
| Hospital inpatient charges | 16% |
| Catastrophic limits | 11% |
| Coverage for specific services such as gender-affirming care, fertility benefits, wellness services, etc. | 8% |
| Availability of mail order pharmacy benefits | 3% |
What is the Value of Federal Employee Benefits?
Federal employees have valuable benefits, certainly when compared to the private sector. Federal employees still have a pension, for example, under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), something that most private sector companies no longer offer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), only about 15% of private sector employees still have access to a pension.
In addition to the pension, federal employees also get 11 paid holidays in a typical year, are able to accrue as much as 1 day of annual leave per pay period depending on their length of service and 1/2 a day of sick leave per biweekly pay period, and also have access to various opportunities for both paid and unpaid leave.
The average federal employee salary, excluding benefits, is $106,363 as of February 2024 according to OPM, but what is the value of federal benefits?
As of 2021, it was $44,021 according to an analysis of BLS data by the Cato Institute, an organization which tracks federal employee salary trends. It could be different now, but that was the latest available data I could find.
Also, the Department of Agriculture states, “On average, the federal government’s contribution to employee benefits equates to approximately 38% of your annual salary.” If this is applied to the $106,363 average salary, that comes out to $40,418, not far off from the figure from Cato. Based on the USDA number, that would put the total average 2024 federal employee salary, including benefits, at $146,781.
