Employees assign a greater value to their total benefits package than cash, a result that surprised the survey’s sponsor.

“What was surprising is that a majority of employees, regardless of their age, seemed to value benefits more than cash,” said Michael E. Shunney, senior vice president and general manager of the U.S. Employee Benefits division of Sun Life Financial, in a statement. The company sponsored the study.

“The current market environment may even be increasing employees’ appreciation of those benefits that help them protect their family’s financial security,” Shunney added.

About 3,000 employees were asked in an online poll to assume they had all the medical insurance their family needed and to distribute 100 points across other benefits based on how much they would value them. Respondents could allocate from 0 to 100 points across seven benefits: 401(k)/retirement plans, dental insurance, vision insurance, long-term disability, short-term disability, long-term care insurance, and cash. They were required to assign all 100 points.

Only 33% of participants assigned a value greater than 0 to cash—and only 5% of the total assigned a value greater than 30 to cash. Cash was the least utilized category.

More than 70% allocated a value greater than 0 to each of the other six benefits. Nearly half of all respondents indicated they valued a broad combination of benefits by allocating at least some of their points to six or more benefits, according to the survey.

Of the supplemental benefits evaluated, employees ranked their dental insurance, 401(k)/retirement plans, vision insurance and group life insurance as most valuable.