Workspan Daily News Bytes for Aug. 14, 2026

54% of Workers Would Take a Pay Cut for More Job Security

According to the 2026 Job Security Report by employment website Monster, 54% of U.S. workers said they would accept a pay cut in exchange for greater job security.

While 26% would take a pay cut of up to 5%, another 28% would accept a reduction of 5% or more, including 11% who would accept a pay cut greater than 10%.

Even more notably, 61% of the respondents said they would be willing to give up at least one aspect of their compensation or workplace experience if it meant feeling more secure in their role.

When asked what they would sacrifice for greater job security, the workers surveyed pointed to:

Reduced bonuses or incentives (26%)
Workplace perks or benefits (26%)
Workplace flexibility, including remote work options (23%)
Higher health insurance costs (17%)

At the same time, 39% said they wouldn’t be willing to make any of these tradeoffs, highlighting that workers continue to place significant value on their overall compensation and quality of life.

Nearly 1 in 5 Gen X Workers Don’t Expect to Ever Fully Retire

Nineteen percent of Generation X workers (those born between 1965 and 1980) don’t expect to ever fully retire, while another 19% plan to work well past the traditional retirement age (68 or older). This is according to a Gen X Financial Outlook Report by career website Zety.

When asked what major economic events have negatively impacted their personal finances, recent inflation stood out above all others:

Rising costs and recent inflation (64%)
COVID-19 pandemic (46%)
2008 Great Recession (23%)
Dot-com bubble of the early 2000s (10%)

As a result, many are taking steps they hope will strengthen their reserves:

44% are reducing their spending.
35% are paying down debt.
34% are increasing their savings or contributions.
25% are earning additional income through a second job or side hustle.
18% are officially delaying their retirement.
16% are adjusting their investment strategy.

Looking ahead, respondents identified their biggest retirement concerns:

52% worry they haven’t saved enough for retirement.
24% are concerned about healthcare costs.
14% worry about outliving their savings.
11% fear a market downturn before they retire.

Employers Increasingly Focused on Healthcare Affordability

Rising healthcare costs remain a workforce and affordability challenge, according to a survey conducted by the nonprofit National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. The poll of 408 U.S. employers found attracting and retaining employees is a top priority (97%) and that health and well-being benefits are crucial to that effort (98%). At the same time, 92% of respondents said healthcare costs hurt competitiveness, 83% said cost increases trade off with wage and salary increases, and 93% expect costs to shift to employees.

“Healthcare affordability is no longer just a benefits issue — it is a business issue, a workforce issue and a wage issue,” said Shawn Gremminger, the alliance’s president and CEO. “Employers have the concern and the will to act, but too often lack the usable data, contractual rights and staff capacity to do so. When those barriers are removed, employers are better able to move from concern to action.”

Other key findings included:

Affordability pressures remain concentrated in three areas. Employers cite drug prices (77%), high-cost claims (75%) and hospital prices (68%) as the top significant threats to healthcare affordability.
Employers paying higher premiums expect sharper increases. Employers project an average 7.7% healthcare cost increase before plan design changes, and 33% of those providing an estimate expect increases of 9% or more. Fully insured employers were most likely to expect increases of 9% or more.
Hospital/facility costs and prescription drugs are the largest shares of spending. Employers estimate hospital/facility costs represent 30.5% of total healthcare spend, followed by prescription drugs at 21.1% and professional fees at 19.1%.
Data access helps employers move from intent to implementation. Employers with full claim-level access reported using nearly four more high-value purchasing strategies on average than employers with limited, no or uncertain access (11.9 versus 7.9). The two groups were similar in the strategies they were considering, suggesting data access is a key factor separating concern from action.
Pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) transparency remains a major focus. Employers identify PBM reform as the most helpful policy reform tested in the survey, with 87.6% rating it very or somewhat helpful. In addition, 43% of respondents are considering a PBM change within the next one to three years.
Hospital transparency and payment reforms are rising policy priorities. Employers rated hospital price transparency (84.6%), hospital rate regulation (82.6%) and hospital antitrust enforcement (72.2%) as very or somewhat helpful reforms.

Sales Data Shows Growing Interest in Individual Life Insurance

Total U.S. individual life insurance (new annualized with excess premium) rose 3% year-over-year to $4.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to preliminary results from a U.S. Life Insurance Sales Survey research report from LIMRA, a trade association supporting the insurance and related financial services industry.

The number of policies sold increased 8% in the second quarter, outpacing premium growth.

“That rise in policy count is a clear signal that more American families are taking steps to protect their financial futures,” said Bryan Hodgens, LIMRA head of research.

Looking at whole life (WL) insurance data:

Policies (new annualized with excess premium) totaled $1.78 billion in the second quarter, up 9% from the prior year and signifying the largest single contributor to overall premium growth.
WL also posted the strongest policy growth of any product line, with the number of policies sold up 11% year over year.
6 in 10 writers increased premium sales, and about half grew policy count.
WL remained the largest product line in the U.S. market, representing 37% of total new annualized with excess premium in the second quarter.

Looking at variable universal life (VUL) insurance data:

Policies (new annualized with excess premium) rose 11% in the second quarter to $800 million — the strongest premium growth rate of any product line.
Although only about half of VUL carriers reported premium gains, that group included eight of the top 10 writers.
Policy count was essentially flat compared with the second quarter of 2025.
Growth was fueled by continued demand in high-face-amount markets, including the survivorship market, and supported by a sharp rebound in U.S. equity markets.
VUL premium represented approximately 17% of the total U.S. life insurance market in the second quarter.

Looking at term life insurance data:

Policies (new annualized with excess premium) rose 7% to $829 million in the second quarter of 2026.
Policy count increased 6% year-over-year.
At least half of carriers reported higher premium sales, and nearly half increased policy sales.
The largest gains were supported by online distributors and digital term platforms, underscoring consumer appeal for faster, simpler and more convenient purchasing experiences.
Policies accounted for an approximate 18% share of the total U.S. individual life insurance market in the second quarter.

Looking at fixed universal life (FUL) insurance data:

After declining since the fourth quarter of 2024, policies (new premium) stabilized in the second quarter.
Policies (new annualized with excess premium) were $240 million, even with the prior year, and the number of policies sold edged up 1%.
At least half of FUL writers, including eight of the top 10, reported premium growth.
Expectations that interest rates will remain relatively elevated may be lending support to this option.
FUL held a 5% share of new premium.

Looking at indexed universal life (IUL) insurance data:

Policies (new annualized with excess premium) were almost $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2026, down 11% from the prior year — the first decline for this option since the second quarter of 2023.
The number of policies sold rose 5% year over year.
The premium drop reflects an exceptionally strong comparison quarter: IUL premium had surged 31% in the second quarter of 2025, and the carriers posting the steepest declines this quarter were largely those that recorded outsized gains a year ago.
About half of IUL writers, including half of the top 10 carriers, reported premium growth.
IUL represented 23% of total new annualized with excess premium in the second quarter.

Figures and Facts of the Week

97: The percentage of U.S. workers who rely on their own judgment or input from coworkers or managers as their first step when making a work decision before turning to automated systems, according to a Workplace Trust in AI Report by career website Resume Now.
95: The percentage of HR leaders in the United Kingdom (UK) who are experiencing heavier workloads as organizations accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, according to new research by The Coders Guild, a UK-based digital skills training provider. The report also found only 23% of HR departments have received AI-specific training.
77: The percentage of organizations who reported they were exposed to payroll-related financial risk, according to a survey of more than 500 senior finance executives in the U.S. and Canada. Commissioned by global employment and payment platform Native Teams, the survey also reported 79% of respondents said cross-border payroll timing affected short-term cash planning.
77: The percentage of American executives in the financial services sector who said their organizations were not moving fast enough to keep pace with AI innovation, according to a 2026 Financial Services Workforce AI Survey by management consultant firm PwC.
44: The percentage of employees in UK who want career progression without becoming a manager, according to a report by employee engagement platform Reward Gateway. Notably, 19% of employees expressed a firm desire not to progress further, as they were happy with their current role and responsibilities.
26: The percentage of American workers who have no emergency savings at all, according to a 2026 Financial Stress Survey by financial wellness platform SecureSave. The report also showed 55% of surveyed workers can’t cover an unexpected $500 expense from savings, while 67% have less than three months of expenses set aside.
18: The percentage of U.S. workers who completely trust job descriptions to reflect a role accurately, according to a Job Description Trust Report by career website MyPerfectResume.

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