We’ve scoured over 200 million benefit elections in our system and analyzed real user behavior and data to bring you our 4th annual Benefits Benchmark Report. How is the Great Resignation affecting the benefits landscape? What new benefit offerings are trending? Exactly how much are other companies paying toward employee plans? We sought to answer these burning questions and are sharing the top 6 must-know statistics we found.

Employers are continuing to diversify their benefit offerings year after year, allowing employees to customize their individual benefit portfolios to better meet their needs. In the height of The Great Resignation, employee satisfaction and retention are of the utmost importance to all HR teams. Employees have been more vocal about what they want from their benefits and the employers who are listening and expanding their offering in response are gaining a competitive edge in the job market.

Another way employers are striving to gain a competitive edge is through HSA contribution. In 2021, 58% of employers contributed to their employees’ HSAs at an average of $1,133. Although a significant number of employers began contributing in 2021, the average amount remained relatively the same. However, to remain competitive in coming years, we predict employers will have to start increasing the dollar amount as well.

The pandemic changed the way a lot of people view their healthcare and financial wellness. According to a recent Bankrate survey, only about 4 in 10 Americans have enough savings to cover an unplanned expense of $1,000. As a result, 81% of employees have adopted and contribute to their own health savings accounts at an average of $2,421 – over double the average employer contribution. Financial wellness benefits and employee saving accounts continued to rise in popularity last year as many want to be more prepared for emergencies. 

3 out of 5 customers manage ACA within the PlanSource platform, up 45% since 2018. Each year, ACA reporting and management continues to get more complicated as regulations change and more states adopt individual mandates. The trickier and more time-consuming it is to navigate, the greater the need for an ACA solution that alleviates HR stress. As HR becomes more of a strategic role, the less time HR leaders have to spend on tedious administrative tasks such as ACA.

Benefits are expensive. In fact, they are the second biggest expense for companies behind payroll. We’ve explained how important a diverse benefits package is to many employees, however providing that can come at a great cost for employers. Cost-saving strategies that still allow employers to offer a wide range of benefits are key. These include total compensation statements, decision support tools and dependent eligibility audits just to name a few.

In addition to benefits being a major expense, as costs continue to rise employers are absorbing the increase, so their employees don’t have to. In 2021, employers contributed more to both employee-only and family plans while employees contributed less than in 2020. This is yet another example of how employers are using their benefits strategy to increase employee satisfaction and hopefully combat turnover.

Check out our on-demand webinar for an exclusive first look at key benefit trends, insights and takeaways from this year’s data, and stay tuned for the release of our 2022 Benefits Benchmark Report!