The 3 Biggest Employee Benefits Challenges Facing Employers Today

The 3 Biggest Employee Benefits Challenges Facing Employers Today

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Managing a benefits program means managing change, and that change is particularly abundant in today’s health care environment. At the same time, employers must ensure their benefit offerings serve the evolving needs of employees and their families and support the organization’s short-and long-term objectives.

While there are many specific areas in which employers must navigate this change and complexity, the following three are proving to be the three most daunting and prevalent challenges.

Our in-depth employee benefits benchmark report provides hundreds of data points and insights to help you manage change in the health care market.

  1. Health Care in Flux

Health plan consolidation and vertical integration of health-related entities continue with no signs of slowing down. In many markets this has resulted in less choices for quality benefits, resulting from increased costs, for employers and employees alike. Compounding escalating costs is Washington’s focus on undoing the ACA. The new tax law repealed the individual mandate penalty, which is likely to mean more cost-shifting to employer plans from uncompensated care.

Additionally, new entrants into the market are disrupting the industry and adding even more complexity to the decisions employers must make when developing and adapting their benefit plans.

  1. War for Talent

With the economy booming, there’s a war for talent. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, unemployment fell to just 3.8% at the end of February 2019. This growing competition for talent means benefit offerings must strengthen attraction and retention, keeping in mind that health coverage is the benefit that matters most to employees. Providing top-notch benefits can be particularly complicated against today’s backdrop of escalating costs and reduced choices.

  1. Employees Are Under Financial Stress

Despite low unemployment, U.S. wage growth has remained stagnant and many employees lack savings. A survey by the Federal Reserve Board found that 44% of Americans could not cover an emergency expense of $400 or more. Further, Employee Benefit Research Institute’s most recent survey of workers with access to employer coverage found that only 30% are confident they could afford health care without financial hardship.

This has important implications for health care benefit design. Given that financial problems are the leading cause of stress and stress has been proven to take a toll on employee health, wellbeing and productivity, employers must question strategies that involve shifting more health care costs to employees.

It is imperative for organizations to make informed and strategic decisions about what benefits to offer as a part of their total rewards strategy. Using a variety of sources to stay up to date on benefits trends and continually assessing the fit of offerings with your organization’s culture are crucial in securing your current and future talent needs.

Looking to make informed, strategic benefits decisions to stay competitive in your industry? Check out our latest employee benefits benchmark report.

 

The 3 Biggest Employee Benefits Challenges Facing Employers Today~/Portals/0/PackFlashItemImages/WebReady/Employee Benefits Package.jpghttps://www.cbiz.com/Portals/0/liquidImages/WebReady/Employee Benefits Package.jpgManaging a benefits program means managing change. At the same time, employers must ensure their benefit offerings serve the evolving needs of employees and their families. Here we discuss three of the biggest challenges employers face today....2019-04-08T20:32:59-05:00

Managing a benefits program means managing change. At the same time, employers must ensure their benefit offerings serve the evolving needs of employees and their families. Here we discuss three of the biggest challenges employers face today.