Global benefits trends in 2023 and beyond
What we’re seeing now is a more considered and strategic approach to employee benefits as the cornerstone of employee wellbeing, employee experience, and HR strategy. After several years of firefighting, employers are devising more targeted benefits programmes and taking advantage of new benefits solutions.
Financial wellbeing has become a key focus within benefits provision as increasing numbers of employees are affected by rising costs of living and higher interest rates. The market is re-framing long-established financial tools and products within the narrative of financial wellbeing, and providers are creating a raft of brilliant tools to make it easier for people to consolidate their savings and debts, get a better overview of their finances, and regain control.
There is also a major swing in the market towards health, particularly standard protections which are increasingly being viewed as critical. There is a growing feeling that the state is no longer able to provide the protections that people need and they’re looking at employee benefits, such as critical illness cover, to fill in the gaps.
Within health, we’re also starting to see a more modular approach where employees can bolt on additional protections to their insurance plans, such as cover for mental health, menopause and neurodiversity; the more holistic view of protection which has seen that sector bring value add offerings to market over recent years. Greater flexibility is allowing employers to broaden the scope of their healthcare schemes and enabling employees to use voluntary benefits to access the add-ons they want.
From an employer perspective, the big shift is that cost-based discussions are being replaced by value-based conversations. Employers are listening and acting on groundswells of demand from their workforces, and they’re actively looking for feedback on the relevance and usefulness of benefits. Employers want to know how easy benefits are to access and use, how quickly claims are being paid and how incentives and discounts are working. And they’re using analytics to scrutinise payoffs much more closely.
Another emerging trend is the move to whole of workforce cover, where benefits that were previously only offered to senior employees, are being made available to everyone. Employers know they need to deliver value for the entire workforce, given the difficulties they are having recruiting talent at every level. And they recognise that benefits and culture are becoming an increasingly important part of talent attraction and acquisition.
Financial wellbeing will continue to frame conversations and product development within benefits over the next 12 months, and we’ll see increased competition between insurers and experts within the benefits and wellbeing industry to dominate this growing market. Ultimately this will work to the advantage of both businesses and their employees, with providers competing to bring better products to market and offering deeper, more holistic wellbeing solutions.
Stephen HackettHead of Corporate Benefits, Benefex
From an employer perspective, the big shift is that cost-based discussions are being replaced by value-based conversations. Employers are listening and acting on groundswells of demand from their workforces, and they’re actively looking for feedback on the relevance and usefulness of benefits.
