For example:
- About 38 percent offer wellness programs
- About one third offer flextime, only about one fifth offer telecommuting, and nearly 64 percent offer a flexible spending account
- About 21 percent think their benefits are more generous than their competitor’s and about 42 percent think their benefits are about the same (although 30 percent don’t know).
- About 56 percent think costs will rise, but only 14 percent think the rise will be significant.
As for “atypical” benefits:
- 15 percent offer an onsite fitness center
- 16 percent offer financial planning assistance
- 15 percent offer a legal assistance program
- 6 percent offer sabbaticals
- 134 percent offer commuter benefits
- 12 percent offer free or low-priced meal
- 1 percent offer concierge service
Respondents represented all 50 states, with a good mix of type of business and number of employees. About 80 percent of respondents make decisions or recommendations on employee benefits.
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Here are the detailed results:
Which of these benefits do you offer to your employees?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Health insurance |
977 |
92.96% |
|
Dental insurance |
930 |
88.49% |
|
Vision insurance |
748 |
71.17% |
|
Short-term disability |
714 |
67.94% |
|
Long-term disability |
777 |
73.93% |
|
Life insurance |
912 |
86.77% |
|
Employee assistance program |
623 |
59.28% |
|
Paid sick days |
610 |
58.04% |
|
Paid holidays |
873 |
83.06% |
|
Paid vacation days |
693 |
65.94% |
|
PTO (paid time off with sick and vacation lumped together) |
364 |
34.63% |
|
Defined-benefit retirement plan (traditional pension plan) |
197 |
18.74% |
|
Defined-contribution retirement plan (such as a 401(k) or 403(b)) |
860 |
81.83% |
|
Flexible spending account |
670 |
63.75% |
|
Stock options |
56 |
5.33% |
|
Tuition reimbursement |
523 |
49.76% |
|
Profit sharing |
191 |
18.17% |
|
Flex time |
340 |
32.35% |
|
Telecommuting |
218 |
20.74% |
|
On-site childcare |
31 |
2.95% |
|
Health and wellness program |
401 |
38.15% |
|
None of the above |
2 |
0.19% |
|
Other |
155 |
14.75% |
Do most of your business’ competitors offer similar non-wage benefits?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Yes, about the same |
425 |
42.29% |
|
No, our company’s benefits are MORE generous than our competitors |
214 |
21.29% |
|
No, our company’s benefits are LESS generous than our competitors |
48 |
4.78% |
|
Don’t know |
293 |
29.15% |
|
Other |
6 |
0.60% |
|
No answer |
19 |
1.89% |
What type of retirement benefits do you offer your employees?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Traditional 401(k) |
682 |
64.89% |
|
Roth 401(k) |
258 |
24.55% |
|
Company pension plan (defined-benefit plan) |
171 |
16.27% |
|
Profit sharing |
149 |
14.18% |
|
403(b) plan |
130 |
12.37% |
|
457 plan |
111 |
10.56% |
|
Employer stock options |
34 |
3.24% |
|
ESOP |
36 |
3.43% |
|
Union-sponsored pension plan (9) |
19 |
1.81% |
|
SIMPLE or SEP |
33 |
3.14% |
|
Other |
72 |
6.85% |
Do you outsource the administration of any of your benefits plans?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Health plan |
455 |
43.29% |
|
Retirement plan |
589 |
56.04% |
|
Flexible spending plan |
462 |
43.96% |
|
No, we do it all in-house |
227 |
21.60% |
|
No, we don’t offer these benefits |
14 |
1.33% |
|
Other |
36 |
3.43% |
How does your organization determine what benefits it will offer to employees?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Survey employees to see what they are interested in |
272 |
25.88% |
|
Work with a consultant to create a plan |
409 |
38.92% |
|
Evaluate benefits packages offered by other companies and our competitors |
446 |
42.44% |
|
Not sure |
123 |
11.70% |
|
Other |
135 |
12.84% |
When was the last time your organization did a comprehensive evaluation of its benefits package?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
2010 |
388 |
40.54% |
|
2009 |
61 |
6.37% |
|
2008 |
28 |
2.93% |
|
2007 |
16 |
1.67% |
|
before 2007 |
90 |
9.40% |
|
Other |
226 |
23.62% |
|
No answer |
148 |
15.46% |
If your organization has a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, what is the status of your employer match?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
We have never had an employer match. |
127 |
13.34% |
|
We stopped our employer match for a while but have reinstated it. |
48 |
5.04% |
|
We stopped our employer match but plan on reinstating it. |
53 |
5.57% |
|
We have an employer match and haven’t stopped it in the last few years. |
504 |
52.94% |
|
We have an employer match and plan on stopping it. |
4 |
0.42% |
|
Other |
88 |
9.24% |
|
No answer |
128 |
13.45% |
If your organization has a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, do you automatically enroll employees in it?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Yes |
250 |
26.18% |
|
No |
515 |
53.93% |
|
No, but we are planning to start automatic enrollment. |
31 |
3.25% |
|
We don’t offer a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. |
44 |
4.61% |
|
Other |
19 |
1.99% |
|
No answer |
96 |
10.05% |
Which of the following "atypical" benefits to you offer your employees?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Sabbaticals (both paid and unpaid) |
63 |
5.99% |
|
Pet insurance |
53 |
5.04% |
|
Childcare beyond assistance and referral options |
19 |
1.81% |
|
On-site fitness center |
155 |
14.75% |
|
Flex work arrangements |
283 |
26.93% |
|
Financial planning assistance |
163 |
15.51% |
|
Legal assistance program |
158 |
15.03% |
|
Commuter benefits |
136 |
12.94% |
|
Free or low-priced meals for employees |
121 |
11.51% |
|
Concierge service |
11 |
1.05% |
|
Other |
94 |
8.94% |
How do your benefits offerings (other than your health insurance package) compare with last year’s?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Less generous this year |
52 |
5.49% |
|
About the same |
774 |
81.65% |
|
More generous this year |
92 |
9.70% |
|
We don’t offer any other benefits besides health insurance |
2 |
0.21% |
|
We don’t offer any benefits |
5 |
0.53% |
|
Not sure |
6 |
0.63% |
|
Other |
4 |
0.42% |
|
No answer |
13 |
1.37% |
What changes do you think your organization’s benefits costs (other than health care costs) will experience in 2012?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Costs will rise significantly |
134 |
14.27% |
|
Costs will rise, but the change won’t be very significant |
395 |
42.07% |
|
Costs will stay pretty much the same with a small rise due to inflation |
309 |
32.91% |
|
Costs will go down |
24 |
2.56% |
|
Other |
18 |
1.92% |
|
No answer |
59 |
6.28% |
What types of changes are you planning to make to your benefits offerings (other than your health insurance package) in 2012?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
None |
458 |
49.14% |
|
We plan to make significant changes |
14 |
1.50% |
|
We plan to make moderate changes |
105 |
11.27% |
|
We plan to make minor changes |
237 |
25.43% |
|
Other |
40 |
4.29% |
|
No answer |
78 |
8.37% |
Do you offer benefits (other than health insurance) to your employees’ unmarried partners?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Yes |
190 |
20.47% |
|
No |
661 |
71.23% |
|
Not Sure |
28 |
3.02% |
|
Other |
27 |
2.91% |
|
No answer |
22 |
2.37% |
Is your organization private sector, nonprofit, or public sector (government)?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Private |
632 |
68.10% |
|
Public (government) |
103 |
11.10% |
|
Nonprofit |
191 |
20.58% |
|
No answer |
2 |
0.22% |
How many employees does your organization have?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Less than 50 |
189 |
20.68% |
|
50-200 |
334 |
36.54% |
|
201-500 |
151 |
16.52% |
|
More than 500 |
240 |
26.26% |
|
No answer |
0 |
0.00% |
Do you have unionized employees?
| Answer |
Count |
Percentage |
|
Yes |
143 |
15.70% |
|
No |
768 |
84.30% |
|
No answer |
0 |
0.00% |