OPM asking feds’ opinions of their health, wellness benefits

The Office of Personnel Management wants to know what feds think of their health benefits.

OPM has kicked off its bi-annual Federal Employee Benefits Survey in an effort to “measure the importance, adequacy and value of employee benefits to ensure that available benefits align with best practices and employee needs,” acting OPM Director Elaine Kaplan wrote in a memo to agency executives Aug. 13. It was just posted online recently.

This is the second Federal Employee Benefits (FEB) survey. OPM conducted the first one in 2011 after removing the questions from the Employee Viewpoint Survey. In the first FEB survey, OPM asked a random sample of 3,000 employees about health and wellness issues, including questions on retirement annuity, life insurance, child care subsidy and telework.

The latest survey also will help OPM evaluate whether or not employees understand the flexibilities and benefits available to them, and it will ask questions about employees’ perceptions of health status and healthy living assistance.

“As was the case in 2011, the 2013 FEBS will contain a section about the fully covered tobacco cessation benefit offered by all Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) Plans,” Kaplan wrote.

OPM, once again, will randomly pick employees to fill out the survey over the next four weeks. Kaplan said OPM will use the results to develop benefits policy and education programs.

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