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Harder voluntary benefit sign-ups cut enrollment but lift repeat use
A Harvard Business School-led study found adding a small extra step reduced registrations by 25% overall, but increased weekly usage among those who did sign up.
Insurance Business highlights new research suggesting that simplifying voluntary benefits may not always maximize long-term participation when the value depends on employees returning repeatedly. The study, led by Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans and co-authored with researchers including Holly Dykstra and Shibeal O'Flaherty, examined whether a small amount of upfront friction changes follow-through.
In one experiment, the researchers tracked more than 27,000 people signing up for a state-run carpool platform. Half were offered one-click registration, while the other half had to re-enter commute details, a deliberate extra step, which produced 25% fewer registrations overall. But among those who did register, the higher-effort group took 1.6 times as many carpool trips per week and logged nearly 800 more total trips over the following four months.
A second experiment tested a similar pattern using an online task and found that participants who completed a 15-question survey before starting were 37% more likely to return for a second day and completed about 50% more work overall. The researchers describe the effect as a buy-in mechanism, where goal-relevant effort at the start builds ownership, making the target behavior feel more valuable.
The findings come as brokers face a separate enrollment challenge, according to a March 2026 survey of 170 brokers by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Lincoln Financial. That survey pointed to administrative complexity and education gaps as key barriers, and Insurance Business notes the new research adds a caveat: simplifying may help get people to sign up, but may not improve benefits that require ongoing follow-through.