Open enrollment is fast approaching, and the vast majority of employers will once again offer a range of voluntary benefits to help their workforce leverage benefits to fit their specific needs—all with the goal of avoiding increased organizational spending.
Voluntary benefits, which can span from disability coverage to gym memberships, are valued both by employees and employers, experts say. In fact, 86% of employers consider voluntary benefits crucial to their overall wellbeing strategy, according to a recent survey by Buck, a Gallagher Company. The payoff is particularly found in improved employee retention, says Richard “Rae” Egleston, president of voluntary benefits at Gallagher.
In the past, voluntary benefits were often treated as add-ons to standard benefits, functioning like siloed solutions. However, over the past decade, employers have largely realized the value of integrating voluntary benefits into the same administrative platform as the organization’s core benefits to make enrollment easier and faster for employees.
By doing so, Egleston says, employers are providing improved customization for employees, filling gaps in coverage from existing plans, enhancing the workforce’s mental and financial wellbeing, and reducing overall employer benefit spending.
“Offering these benefits often results in direct cost savings for employers,” Egleston says. “When properly integrated with core lines of coverage, employers experience significantly higher [voluntary] benefit utilization, streamlined administration and greater employee satisfaction.”
5 key voluntary benefits on the rise in 2025
The Gallagher study found that 67% of employers are seeking ways to offer more voluntary benefit choices to their employees, and 63% of employees indicated they would consider changing jobs for better benefits.
Interest in offering voluntary benefits continues to grow yearly as the workforce becomes more diverse—spanning five generations, says Rachel McCarter, a West market voluntary benefits sales principal at Mercer.
What kind of voluntary benefits are employers most interested in? While experts from Mercer, Gallagher and WTW say the most popular and promising voluntary benefits have largely remained the same over the past few years, there have been some slight shifts. In particular, significant innovation and broadening of coverage have occurred within each of these areas, says McCarter.
Here are the popular voluntary benefits experts have their eye on heading into 2025:
Supplemental health benefits
Experts say critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity plans are among the longstanding, widespread voluntary benefits offered to employees as supplemental health benefits.
According to WTW’s Best Practices in Healthcare Survey, the percentage of surveyed employers offering critical illness coverage is anticipated to jump from 69% in 2023 to up to 80% this year. Meanwhile, the percentage of employers providing accident coverage could climb to 76% from 67%, and the amount of those offering hospital indemnity coverage may rise to 71% from 57% during the same period.
But McCarter notes some employers have also added benefits to the supplemental health suite to support mental health, the family-forming journey, chronic illnesses, autism and substance use disorders, among others.
Legal plans and services
The majority (68%) of employers surveyed in Gallagher’s 2024 Workforce Trends report are currently offering legal plans and services.
Such solutions typically include services like assistance creating a will and trust, but legal plans have also expanded to include coverage for name changes, surrogacy agreements, egg/sperm/embryo donation and adoption benefits, says McCarter.
Identity theft and cybersecurity protection
Cybersecurity breaches are on the rise. Earlier this month, a staggering 2.7 billion records were allegedly breached at a background check company, National Public Data, by a hacker group called USDoD, according to a CBS News report. Individuals’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and phone numbers were pilfered. Employers are increasingly concerned about cybersecurity threats at the office, at employees’ homes and on their mobile devices as workers log onto corporate networks from home.
McCarter says employers are expanding their cybersecurity protection beyond their four walls and making such services as ID theft protection and cybersecurity plans available to their employees for their personal use via voluntary benefits.
Permanent life and long-term care plan
There is growing interest in permanent life and long-term care plans, experts say.
The state of Washington has implemented the WA Cares program that provides public long-term care that is funded through a payroll tax, says Julie Johnson, senior director of voluntary benefits at WTW. She notes other states are considering similar, but not identical programs, which is driving employer attention to this area.
“Employers are starting to talk about it more and have an interest in it,” Johnson says.
Pet insurance
During the pandemic, employers encountered a rise in pet adoptions by their remote and hybrid workers, leading to increased requests for voluntary pet insurance benefits, Johnson says. However, not all voluntary pet insurance offerings are the same, making it tricky for employers to decide what to offer. Some pet coverage is insurance, while other benefits are discount programs, for example, making it essential to do an apples-to-apples comparison, she notes.
Voluntary benefits trends bubbling up
While most U.S. companies offer some level of voluntary benefits, the focus has shifted toward ensuring that the plans are top of the line, provide a positive employee experience and allow easy payment of claims, McCarter says.
“The biggest trend in voluntary benefits today is bundling with the medical or life and disability carrier or integrating medical claims data to streamline claims processing,” she says.
McCarter says bundling helps ensure employees get the most value out of the programs they have purchased, adding that this is a top objective for employers across the country.
“Voluntary benefits remain a vital part of the employee benefits package. It is important for attracting and retaining talent, promoting employee satisfaction and engagement, supporting wellbeing and work/life balance, providing financial security, fostering loyalty and retention, and building a positive company culture and reputation,” McCarter says. “These benefits contribute to a more productive and satisfied workforce, ultimately benefiting both the employees and the employer.”
