Background: In late April, the DCIIA RRC and SPARK Institute published joint research on privacy, data sharing, and security within the retirement and employee benefits industry. In last week’s Research Minute, we explored employer perspectives around participant data and data sharing. This week, we showcase employee perspectives collected through focus groups. Participants shared their prior personal experiences with data sharing behavior, and their actions on platforms such as social media.Findings:Participants want help and are often seeking support from their employers. They are willing to share their personal data with increased transparency on usage and more control on third-party sharing.Trust stems from brand strength.There is a willingness to share data, but only for a clear purpose if they see the value.Most desire limited distribution of “added” details; it needs to be clear, defined, and restricted.Trust is key - employees largely trusted their employers with data usage; however, concern grew when sharing data for purposes outside of direct employee benefits.Bottom Line: This research suggests the emergence of two main themes. The first is participant trust is established and built through regular contact and overall operational efficiency with participant-facing services. The second theme is that participants did not necessarily distrust their employers, but they did have data privacy concerns centered around security breaches once companies continued to share data to third parties (following initial authorizations for use). However, as mentioned in part one of this series, employers and recordkeepers had distinct differences in opinions when it comes to responsibility for participant data and usage for additional services.Part two of this study is underway; DCIIA RRC, SPARK, and LIMRA are partnering on a more comprehensive participant survey. Additionally, we will continue to explore new participant findings and practitioner compromises at the DCIIA/SPARK Public Policy Forum, with a special half day focus on data the morning of June 7th – please join us and be a part of the conversation!