Survey Finds Changes in Benefits Priorities

These are highlights of SHRM’s 2022 Benefits Survey.

Shuffling Priorities. The ranking order of benefits has returned to its pre-pandemic status, with health care and retirement benefits in the top two spots again. Overall, employers now consider that offering benefits is more important than ever.

Healthcare. Healthcare benefits continued to be viewed as the most important benefit, with 72% of employers offering fully insured health plans and 26% providing self-insured plans.

Telehealth and Mental Health Care. More companies are providing access to telehealth services (up from 62% to 93%) and mental health care (up from 86% to 91%) in their benefits package.

Financial Wellbeing. Employers are more focused on providing financial wellbeing, offering retirement and savings options, with 94% offering 401(k) plans and 83% matching employee contributions. Sixty-eight percent also offer a Roth 401(k).

Flexible Work Arrangements. Sixty-three percent of employers now offer a hybrid work solution; 63% said they subsidize equipment employees need to work from home, equating to an average of approximately $891.

Other Benefits. The percentage of employers offering paid maternity leave has declined since 2020, from 53% in 2020 to 35%, while paternity leave dropped from 44% to 27%. Family caregiving benefits also dropped slightly from 64% to 59%. On the other hand, more companies (78% now compared to 74% in 2020) are offering professional development benefits to help employees recover after the pandemic. But undergraduate or graduate tuition assistance dropped to 48% from 56% in 2019, and the percentage of companies offering student loan repayment assistance has declined to 7% from 8% in 2020.

For more information on employee benefits, contact INSURICA today.