---
title: "Ancillary Benefits: The Benefits Employees Have But Don't Use"
description: Most employers offer dental, vision, life, and disability coverage, and most employees don't fully understand what they have. Here's how to close the gap.
image: https://q4intel.com/hubfs/Ancillary%20Benefits%20The%20Benefits%20Employees%20Have%20But%20Dont%20Use-1.jpg
---
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# Ancillary Benefits: The Benefits Employees Have But Don't Use
Most employers would say their benefits package is competitive. For major medical coverage, they can be right, but ask those same employers when they last communicated about dental coverage, explained what short-term or long-term disability covers, or reminded employees that their vision plan includes an annual exam, and the answers get quieter.
Ancillary benefits (dental, vision, life, disability, supplemental coverage, and spending accounts) get listed in the enrollment packet, checked off the compliance list, and forgotten until the following year. That pattern costs employers.
### What ancillary means, and why the label matters
*Ancillary benefits* are coverage that supplements primary group health insurance, such as dental, vision, life, and disability. Health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) also fall into this category, as do supplemental options like accident insurance, hospital indemnity, and critical illness coverage.
The term "ancillary" implies "secondary," and that framing may be the issue. These benefits are secondary in structure, not in importance. For many employees, a dental problem, an unexpected disability, or the sudden need for income protection is the moment they need their employer to have their back.
### The gap between offering benefits and understanding
Employers invest real money in ancillary benefits, and a significant portion goes unrealized because employees don't know what they have or how to use it.
MetLife's 2024 Employee Benefit Trends Study shows [62% of employees are not completely confident they know about all the benefits offered to them](https://www.metlife.com/about-us/newsroom/2024/april/metlife-expands-customer-experience-capability/), and[45% don't fully understand their benefits package](https://westcomm.com/2024-metlife-key-takeaways/). Those figures clearly describe the comprehension problem.
Employees miss routine exams, skip preventive care, go to the ER for basic health issues, and don't understand what their plan covers, and employers miss out on the return on benefits they've already paid for. The cost isn't only financial. MetLife's research shows that[76% of workers who understand their benefits report being happy at work, compared to just 47% of those who don't](https://www.metlife.com/about-us/newsroom/2023/september/employees-who-want-happiness-and-stability-cant-overlook-benefits/). Benefits comprehension connects directly to wellbeing, and wellbeing connects to retention.
### What ancillary benefits are on the table
**Dental coverage** provides access to preventive care (cleanings, exams, and x-rays), restorative procedures, and, in many plans, orthodontic work. Routine visits can also detect broader health issues early, including diabetes and cardiovascular risk markers.[Offered by roughly 99% of employers that provide health benefits](https://fitsmallbusiness.com/employee-benefits-statistics/), dental benefits are nearly universal, yet utilization consistently lags behind enrollment.
**Vision coverage** includes annual exams and access to prescription eyewear. Beyond updating a prescription, an exam can identify glaucoma, hypertension, and other systemic conditions early, a strong case for using this benefit every year.
**Life insurance** provides financial protection for an employee's family.[Offered by 6 in 10 private-sector employers](https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2023/06/attracting-the-best-offering-comprehensive-ancillary-employee-benefits.aspx), group life insurance includes guaranteed issue amounts that don't require medical underwriting, a benefit employees may not know they can access.
**Disability insurance** replaces income when an employee can't work due to injury or illness. Many employees assume workers' compensation or government programs would cover them. Often, that assumption is wrong, and a clear explanation during enrollment could change how they value this coverage.
### Beyond the core four: supplemental and spending benefits
HSAs and FSAs allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to cover out-of-pocket health expenses, easing the financial gap that major medical doesn't fill. Accident insurance, critical illness, and hospital indemnity plans work similarly, providing lump-sum or fixed payments when an employee faces an unexpected health event. For employees carrying high-deductible plans or living paycheck to paycheck, that protection matters, but only if they understand it's available and what triggers a payment.
### The return on better communication
[Four out of five employees say they would prefer new benefits or perks to a pay raise](https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2023/06/attracting-the-best-offering-comprehensive-ancillary-employee-benefits.aspx), and[half say they would feel more valued if their employer improved benefits communications](https://westcomm.com/2024-metlife-key-takeaways/). Employees feel rewarded just by being better informed about what already exists.
The data makes the return concrete.[HSA participation jumps from 15% among employees who haven't received benefits education to 44% among those who have](https://blog.accessperks.com/employee-engagement-benefits-statistics-the-ultimate-collection). Better education drives better behavior, which in turn drives health outcomes and cost management.
### Closing the gap
Ancillary benefits need the same attention employers give to major medical: year-round communication, plain-language explanations, and resources that help employees make good decisions year-round.
A few places to start:
- Audit what's currently offered and how it's documented in employee-facing materials.
- Identify the last time each benefit was communicated outside of enrollment and whether that communication explained how to use it.
- Build a simple touchpoint calendar: one or two reminders per benefit per year can improve utilization.
- Consider format. Short videos, one-pagers, and benefit-specific FAQs are low-cost options with proven impact.
The benefits are already there. The question is whether employees know it.
Content provided by Q4intelligence
Photo by [zimmytws](https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/13713/zimmytws?load_type=author&prev_url=detail)
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---
Columbia Benefit Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or with the federal Medicare program.
Required Federal Disclosure: We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 15 organizations in 8 states which offer 340 plans (plan availability depends on the zip code in which you reside). Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.
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