Colonial Life, SBA to host webinar on voluntary benefits

Free event is part of 2015 National Small Business Week

COLUMBIA, SC — Small businesses are the engines that drive America’s economy. But many small business owners don’t understand how they can offer their employees the best benefits available while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

That’s why Colonial Life and the Small Business Administration are offering a free webinar at 4 p.m. May 6 on voluntary benefits. The webinar, Voluntary Benefits: Not just for the Big Guys, is part of Colonial Life’s sponsorship of the Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week, which runs May 4 – 8. The week has been celebrated in the United States each year since 1963.

Only 52 percent of employees at small businesses (with fewer than 100 employees) have a benefits package – compared to 87 percent of employees who work for larger companies, according to a 2014 Colonial Life survey conducted by Harris Poll. At least 40 percent of employees at small businesses said in the poll they were interested in purchasing financial protection benefits such as life insurance, short-term disability insurance, critical illness insurance and accident insurance.

Gil Youmans, director of small market solutions at Colonial Life, will conduct the webinar for Colonial Life. Small business owners can ask questions during the webinar or participate throughout the year on Twitter with #askcoloniallife. They can also stay informed about small business issues and benefits at our Small Business Hub (coloniallife.com/smallbusiness) or our small businessTwitter account (@coloniallifebiz).

“This is a great opportunity for us to show business owners how we can help them protect what they and their employees have worked so hard to build,” Youmans said.

Learn more about the SBA’s Small Business Week activities and register for the free voluntary benefits webinar to learn more about how voluntary benefits can help small employers attract and retain top employees.

About Colonial Life

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in providing financial protection benefits through the workplace, including disability, life, accident, dental, cancer, critical illness and hospital confinement indemnity insurance. The company’s benefit services and education, innovative enrollment technology and personal service support more than 80,000 businesses and organizations, representing more than 3 million of America’s workers and their families. For more information visitwww.coloniallife.com or connect with the company at www.facebook.com/coloniallifebenefits, www.twitter.com/coloniallife andwww.linkedin.com/company/colonial-life.