Believe it or not, 2019 is just around the corner. While wrapping up any loose ends from this year’s open enrollment, it’s important to simultaneously start planning for 2019.
For brokers, this means knowing what benefits are gaining popularity as well as which ones are losing traction. That way you can start crafting smart benefits offerings that help your clients engage their employees and offer the benefits they’re truly looking for.
In fact, strategically using benefits to attract and retain talent has proven to be an extremely effective method:
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the following benefits are on the rise for 2019.
Health Savings Accounts
The number of employers offering HSAs has increased by 11% since 2014. With HSAs gaining in popularity, it’s important to ensure your clients have access to the best possible arrangement for their employees. For example, Clarity’s Ready For Life HSA provides a built-in payroll advance to help cover unexpected healthcare costs—which is when they’ll need help the most.
Paid Parental Leave
Paid parental leave for mothers, fathers, adoption, fostering, and surrogacy have all increased in the past few years. With family being a top priority of many millennials, who make up majority of the workforce, it’s no surprise that this will continue to grow in popularity through 2019.
Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness insurance is on the rise for 2019 since it provides additional protection against the increasingly high healthcare costs associated with medial emergencies and critical illnesses. 2018 has seen an 8% jump in employers offering this benefit, and that number is expected to grow as critical illness costs continue to rise.
Telecommuting
Work-life balance is a growing concern for much of the workforce, since the connected nature of our society makes it increasingly difficult to “unplug” from work. Flexible working benefits, including telecommuting, can help employers create better work-life balance for their employees. In 2018, about 70% of employers offered flexible working benefits, up from 59% just four years prior. This benefit usually is not costly for employers but is extremely valued by employees.
Stress Management
Stressed employees are not productive employees, that’s no secret. More and more employers are taking that matter into their own hands and offering onsite stress management programs. Although it’s not as popular as other benefits currently, it has potential to grow exponentially through 2019 as mental health and stress management continues to be a major societal concern.
Life Insurance
A majority of organizations are offering company-paid life insurance, with a slightly smaller (but still significant) amount offering supplemental life insurance. While this benefit is not as novel as some of the others on this list, it’s still important to make sure your clients are offering it as it continues to grow in popularity.
Paid Time off for Volunteering
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 25% of Americans volunteer. A majority of those who volunteer are of working age:
Offering paid time off for volunteering shows employees that their values are the company’s values, which is extremely important for employee retention. Although the rates are rising, still less than a quarter of employers are offering this benefit, so this is a great opportunity to broaden your clients’ offerings with something really attractive.
This is just a small sample of the benefits on the rise for 2019. Take some time to research benefits that are popular in your clients’ regions and with their specific employee base. Feel free to Contact Us with any questions in the process.
Sources:
2. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf
