Benefits Helpful in Attracting Younger Workers to Federal Positions: Survey

When it comes to making the federal government an employer of choice, the current benefits package goes a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) just released the results of the 2023 Federal Employee Benefits Survey (FEBS).

And over two-thirds of respondents said that federal benefits, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, the option for a retirement annuity, and the ability to participate in the retirement Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), influenced their decision to join the federal government.

More than three quarters said it influenced their decision to remain a federal employee.

And the benefits are welcomed particularly by the younger generation, a key demographic that federal recruiters have been trying to reach. 

Employees from generations such as Gen Z and Millennials rated FEHB higher (94 percent) than employees from older generations (84 percent).

About 70 percent of younger workers also said that the addition of paid parental leave was a positive factor in them joining or staying in the federal workforce. Many young workers also said fertility benefits are an important addition to FEHB.

Overall, 90 percent of employees said that FEHB and TSP met their needs to either a moderate extent or a great extent.

“The federal workforce delivers key services to the American people every day. We must support the people who are doing that critical work. The Biden-Harris Administration has strengthened benefits for our employees and their families and this year’s FEBS is a positive sign we’re on the right track,” said OPM Acting Director Rob Shriver. 

TSP was ranked as the important benefit to employees, with 96 percent saying the program was “extremely important “or “important” to them. That was followed by a retirement annuity, retirement health benefits, and FEHB.

On the question of value, the responses were a bit more mixed.

Two thirds, 66 percent, of enrollees said that FEHB was an excellent or good value, while 85 percent said TSP was an excellent or good value. Those numbers are down seven and six percent from the 2021 survey.

Also on FEHB, about 40 percent of respondents considered changing their plan carrier in the past five years. Many cited costs as the top reason way.

The survey was administrated from October 17, 2023, through November 17, 2023, to approximately 100,000 federal employees. It had a response rate of 21 percent, down from 27 percent in 2021.

Besides FEHB and TSP, it measured satisfaction with other federal benefits including dental and vision insurance, long-term care, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts.