9 National Trends in Employee Benefits
May 24, 2024
Stop wondering how other companies structure their benefits programs. Boost your organization’s competitiveness and employee satisfaction by arming yourself with data.
Stop wondering how other companies structure their benefits programs. Boost your organization’s competitiveness and employee satisfaction by arming yourself with data.
Staying up to date on employee benefits trends is crucial for HR professionals—it enables them to design competitive packages that attract and retain top talent while also managing organizational costs.
In our 2024 benefit trends report, in collaboration with UBA, nine pivotal trends emerged after an extensive review of 7,800 employers nationwide. The review included an examination of health plan design, cost management strategies, enrollment patterns, company sizes, and funding arrangements, nine key trends driving the future of employee benefits emerged.
This report is crafted specifically for company executives, HR directors, and benefits managers eager to maintain their competitive edge when hiring and retaining employees.
Below is a glimpse at each trend. Full details can be found in the downloadable PDF.
Nationwide, health plan costs rose by 6.4% in 2023, up from the previous year’s 5.7% increase. Small employers with 50 or fewer employees were the hardest hit by medical inflation.
Compared to last year, nearly 73% more employers added prescription drug tiers, making it the fastest-growing cost mitigation strategy.
Regional trends primarily drive plan prevalence. See our Texas and Missouri trend reports to learn the preferred plan designs for each state and company size.
In 2022, small groups were more reluctant to shift costs to employees and used this cost lever less often than their larger counterparts. However, in 2023, in the face of 7.1% cost increases for small group plans, this cost mitigation strategy increased by 43% among small businesses.
Midsize companies are price shoppers and switch carriers more often than their larger counterparts to keep inflation below the national 6.4% median.
In 2023, large employers faced significantly higher cost increases (6% in 2023 vs 3.9% in 2022).
Self-funding continues to be an attractive option, growing 7.8% among groups with 50 to 199 employees, 4.4% among groups with 200 to 499 employees, and 6.5% among employers with more than 1,000 employees over the previous year.
Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees are driving growth in basic life insurance and short- and long-term disability insurance, with respective increases of 14.5%, 8.5%, and 12.4% over the past year.
The fastest growing wellness offerings are discounts or reimbursements for health clubs or weight management programs, from 28% prevalence in 2022 to more than 50% of those offering wellness in 2023.
Imagine having a benefits strategy perfectly tailored to your industry, company size, geographical location and more.
The Miller Group can help make this a reality. Our targeted benchmarking reports go far beyond nationwide trends, helping you create a standout benefits program that sets you apart from the competition.
