With record low unemployment rates and a competitive job market, now is the time to evaluate your compensation packages and benefits to support your hardworking recruiters.

How do your packages and perks stack up against your competition? Are you meeting the needs of the modern workforce? Voluntary benefits are a great way to fill potential gaps in traditional health coverage and provide innovative programs that speak to different workforce demographics.

But just how important are voluntary benefits?

A recent report found that 62% of employees under the age of 50 would not consider a job that does not offer voluntary benefits. And, 83% of employees with health care coverage and no voluntary benefits say they are open to enrolling in voluntary benefits through their employer—and they don’t expect their employer to pay for them.

Check out red-hot voluntary benefits that are on the rise and consider if these would be a good fit for your own benefits mix.

Parking and Transit Reimbursement

The amount of employers offering parking and transit reimbursement has risen 198% over the past three years.

As urban communities feel the pressure of growth and development, many employers are adding in parking and transit perks to make commuting more affordable and efficient. These innovative programs allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to cover expenses related to transportation, parking and biking. And the programs aren’t just a perk for employees; a 2016 survey conducted by Best Workplaces revealed that 69% of companies that offered the perk reduced their need for parking spaces, 59% improved community relations and 53% reduced local traffic congestion.

Legal Assistance

The amount of companies that offer legal assistance as a voluntary perk has increased 207% over the past three years.

Legal assistance programs often fly under the radar but are an incredibly helpful and affordable add-on for employees. Studies show that 75% of employees experience a legal life event each year, and a legal assistance program can help provide easy access and even expedite the process for seeking assistance with common legal situations, like property transfers, personal wills, separations and divorces, adoptions and more.

Identity Theft Protection

Identity theft protection topped the growth list for 2019 with an impressive 440% increase in companies offering this benefit over the past three years.

Though many assume identity theft only happens to consumers who are careless with their data and that ‘it could never happen to me‘, the numbers paint a much different picture. In 2017, identify fraud happened to every 1 in 15 consumers, which equated to well over 16 million victims, and that number is only growing.  Data breaches happen each and every day, so simply being mindful of how you set passwords and share personal data is simply not enough to protect against identity theft. These programs are often incredibly affordable to offer and give employees the peace of mind that their data is being monitored and protected.

Voluntary benefits are no longer just ‘nice to have’. These innovative perks are now expected by employees and are a surefire way to attract and retain top talent. How do your benefits programs compare?

Be sure to download your free copy of the 2019 Benefits Benchmark Report for an in-depth review of benefits trends and insights!