Beyond the basics: How employers are expanding their benefits to meet employees’ changing needs

How employers are expanding their benefits to meet employees’ changing needs

Nearly all employee benefits programs include employees’ most-wanted core benefits: major medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage. A majority of employers also offer traditional voluntary benefits that provide additional financial protection, such as life, disability and supplemental health plans. But the post-pandemic environment has highlighted a growing need for other types of protection for employees navigating new challenges, from finances to mental health to family caregiving. A growing number of employers are responding by expanding their benefits options beyond the mainstays to include a wide variety of nontraditional benefits.

Eastbridge Consulting Group’s recent MarketVision^TM — The Employer Viewpoint^© report shows nearly half of employers now offer some type of mental health program or service, up from 34% just three years earlier. More than one-third of employers offer telemedicine, and at least one in four offer bereavement support or financial wellness education and tools. Other types of benefits that help employees manage their money and family responsibilities also are growing in popularity: 17% of employers offer student loan repayment/refinancing benefits, 16% offer purchasing programs, 14% offer access to caregiver support, and 6% offer estate and will planning services.

Look for these numbers to grow in the near future as employers continue to expand their menu of nontraditional benefits. Employers that currently don’t currently offer these products say they’re most likely to add mental health programs, financial wellness education and tools, and caregiving benefits in the next two to three years.

Percent of employers offering nontraditional benefits

Meeting employees’ growing needs

Many employees struggle to meet their family and financial obligations. As our population ages, so do family caregiving responsibilities: SeniorLiving.org reports one in five Americans — 53 million adults — are helping older relatives, spouses, friends or neighbors with daily living tasks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of federal student loan debt is held by people between 25 and 60 years old — their prime working and family raising years — according to TheCollegeInvestor.com.

No wonder, then, that many employees show increasingly strong interest in nontraditional benefits that can help them with these challenges. Eastbridge’s most recent MarketVision™ — The Employee Viewpoint^© report shows employees with access to these benefits through their employers are most likely to own and use mental health, telemedicine, financial wellness, and purchasing programs.

Employees whose employers don’t offer these benefits show significant interest in a wide range of nontraditional products and services. One-third of employees surveyed say they’re interested in family caregiving and estate and will planning services. Nearly as many report interest in access to genetic/DNA testing services (29%), bereavement support (28%), purchasing programs (27%) and financial planning services (26%).

Employees’ use of and interenst in nontraditional benefits

Providing personal support

A growing number of employers and employees understand the value of nontraditional benefits, but simply making these benefits available may not be enough for employees to understand and take full advantage of them. Recognizing this gap, 5Star Life has partnered with Overalls’ LifeConcierge^® to help employees navigate their health, family and daily life challenges.

LifeConcierge’s human-led, AI-powered service can help families access caregiver support by scheduling child care and elder care, arranging in-home care, filling prescriptions and providing patient advocacy. The service also can find and schedule service providers for a wide range of medical and household needs, from doctors to electricians. Other services include helping employees navigate the bureaucracy of many aspects of daily life, from dealing with denied insurance claims to tracking down lost baggage; helping with planning and logistics for travel, moves and special events; and offering expert advice on insurance needs, contractor pricing and tax rebates.

5Star Life Insurance Company (5Star Life) is dedicated to a collaborative experience with brokers and employers to meet the needs of today’s workforce with benefits solutions and a consumer experience that is second to none. Discover more about 5Star Life, our products and services, and our commitment to partnering with you by visiting us at 5starlifeinsurance.com.