New research from Voya and Easterseals finds veterans with disabilities experience gaps in their workplace benefits

New research from Easterseals — one of the nation’s leading disability and community services providers — and Voya Cares — which provides resources, thought leadership and advocacy for disability inclusion, was released today. The results of this new study, which are further outlined in a research paper, titled “Disabled Veterans and employers: moving from surviving to thriving,” underscore the importance for companies to understand more about the needs of veterans with disabilities. With better understanding, employers can provide benefits to help meet their needs and education to encourage veterans and their caregivers to take full advantage of these resources. Among other findings, the research shows:

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• While 60% of all veterans described their transition from the service as “easy,” only 37% of veterans with disabilities said the same.
• About half (51%) of disabled veterans are confident in their ability to cover day-to-day expenses, and few are confident they could handle the cost of retirement.
• Only 55% of disabled veterans are satisfied with their mental and emotional health (as compared to 75% of nondisabled veterans).

“Employers are increasingly recruiting veterans, in part because of a common set of characteristics that make them great employees, such as leadership, adaptability and teamwork. Yet there is little awareness that more than one-third of veterans nationwide have a disability, and their needs in the workplace may be quite different than those of their nondisabled colleagues. Our research confirms that a gap exists between the support disabled veterans identify they need as employees and the benefits and services that are offered and used in the workplace,” said Jessica Tuman, head of Voya Cares Center of Excellence at Voya Financial. “By addressing these challenges, employers have an opportunity to make a tangible difference in the financial health and overall career path of their employees who are disabled veterans, while better recruiting, hiring and retaining this valuable workforce.”