Dive Brief:
- Voluntary benefits will undergo even more of a makeover during the upcoming year – particularly concerning customization, according to Employee Benefits News.
- The article reports that voluntary benefits, which used to be somewhat of an afterthought in an overall benefits package, are today considered by many to be a "mainstay" within employee benefits offerings.
- Most of all, the articles notes, voluntary benefits today play a more important role in an employer’s retention strategy because they offer choice beyond the typical employer-paid core benefits. With 2016 underway, employers will continue to customize both traditional (term life, dental care) and nontraditional (pet insurance) voluntary benefits.
Dive Insight:
According to EBN, benefits leaders now understand that voluntary benefits can often meet a wide range of employee needs. That's an important note, as employees often report they won't job shop as much when they have access to a rich and diverse voluntary benefits package. With that, employers will continue to put more thought into not only which voluntary benefits, but also how many, to offer.
It's not easy creating a voluntary benefits program, the article says. With diversity on the rise, it's critical to balance voluntary benefits against the needs of three workforce generations (Boomers, Gen X and Millennials).
The article says employers should look at several options, but primarily: buying/banking benefits offering workers alternative ways to save, spend or borrow; lifestyle and convenience benefits offering price discounts otherwise unavailable and, finally, personal care and improvement benefits, which demonstrate that employers "care about the whole employee."
