Firms plan to increase benefits offerings this year

Business is looking up and firms are looking to increase benefits offerings. In fact, over 90% of businesses plan to increase at least one benefit next year.

Small- to medium-sized firms are increasing their focus on “key employee well-being initiatives.” They’re finding these benefits help them cope with pandemic fluctuations and make them more competitive.

In fact, the Principal Financial Well-Being Index found 82% of businesses expect to improve over the coming year.

“As businesses start to ramp up operations, employers are dealing with the complex American labor shortage and a workforce empowered to determine where they want to work and what they want from an employer, making benefit offerings more critical,” says Amy Friedrich, president of U.S. Insurance Solutions at Principal on Businesswire.com.

Where’s the focus?

The focus to increase benefits is due to how they want to present them to the outside world.

Currently, 65% of firms are looking to improve their digital access to benefit for employees. Reasons given in the study:

• 71% said to help employees understand their benefits better
• 62% said online onboarding, and
• 40% said to reduce paper.

Financial wellness and retirement plans are two other areas where firms plan to increase benefits.

While nearly 70% of employers said financial wellness programs are important, only 62% of them offered financial wellness benefit programs.

And more than 80% of businesses said retirement plan offerings are key to attract and retain talent.

For employers with less than 500 employees, proposed legislation known as The Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0) in Congress will aid them in expending their retirement offerings.