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Same old, same old? Not when it comes to benefits. According to our The Employer Viewpoint report, more employers — 62% compared to 44% two years ago — plan to make changes in the next 12–18 months.
Here are three changes you should prepare to discuss before clients even ask.
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1. Employers will expand benefits plans, often adding employer-paid benefits, or new voluntary, employee-pay-all benefits.
Two-thirds of employers now offer voluntary benefits, up from 60% in 2020. The number offering at least one voluntary benefit has grown seven percentage points in the 10–49 size group and nine points in the 50–99 size group since 2020, with other sizes remaining flat. Employer-paid or partially employer-paid benefits mentioned most are nontraditional benefits like financial counseling, child/family care, mental health, pet insurance or telemedicine. Employers also plan to add traditional benefits: life, health/medical, dental, vision, retirement and LTC.
2. More employers will offer nontraditional benefits.
Legal plans top the list of commonly offered nontraditional benefits, followed by auto/homeowners, ID protection, and pet insurance. All of these are also in the top five voluntary products employers would like to offer in the future.
More than a third of employers offer other benefits, such as financial wellness education/tools, telemedicine, and mental health benefits. In addition, 28% of employers say they offer caregiver/family/senior care benefits and 26% offer purchasing programs. A significant percentage say they're likely to add several of these benefits in the next one to two years.
3. Voluntary participation will grow.
Half of employers say more employees enrolled in voluntary during the pandemic, compared to only 16% who say participation decreased and 33% who indicate COVID-19 had no effect on it.
Six in 10 employers expect voluntary participation will rise. Only 31% say the pandemic won't have an effect, while just 6% say they expect fewer employees to enroll as a result of the pandemic.
Now's the time to pack your portfolio with proactive ideas and solutions your clients will need.
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