Open enrollment is not just about health insurance and retirement savings benefits anymore. This year, many employers are likely to offer a variety of new voluntary benefit options along with making changes to long-standing benefits. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), trends to watch for include:
- Expanded wellness programs (health and financial)
- Increased opportunities for workflex
- Voluntary benefit offerings that allow employees to customize their benefits to their needs and interests
- Changes designed to control the increasing costs of prescription drugs
Wellness Programs and Workflex
While the granddaddy of benefits is health insurance, SHRM's 2017 Employee Benefits survey results also indicated that 24 percent of organizations increased their wellness benefits in the 12 months before the survey was taken. Employers should anticipate other benefits to increase as well. "More opportunities for flexible work schedules and remote work may also be on the table this enrollment period as employee demand for flexibility increases," said Sylvia Francis, total rewards manager, Regional Transportation District and a SHRM Special Expertise Panel member.
Voluntary Benefits
In addition to wellness and workflex, additional voluntary benefit offerings may include supplemental life insurance, supplemental health plans (especially as high-deductible health plans become more prevalent), identity theft protection, legal plans and pet insurance. "The new [benefit offerings] that I'm seeing are a trend toward offering supplemental maternity benefits and student loan repayment assistance. Also, I have seen a lot of companies offering summer Friday's off — or half off — as an extra perk," said Rodney Alvarez, vice president of talent management at Celtra Inc. and a SHRM Special Expertise Panel member.
Prescription Drug Cost Controls
As organizations look for ways to control the cost of benefits, some may incorporate prescription drug cost controls. These controls could include step-therapy, prior authorization requirements and additional co-pay or co-insurance tiers.
Source: SHRM