What’s next for employee benefits? Research round-up
Across the research reports highlighted in this round-up, several common themes emerge about the current state of employee benefits in the UK and worldwide. These include:
- Balancing cost and value - managing budgets while maximising the impact of benefits spend.
- Driving greater equity - ensuring fair access to benefits, whether between different employee levels or across global workforces, often through minimum standards.
- Harnessing technology - using digital tools to strengthen governance, streamline administration, enhance communication, improve data insights and elevate the employee experience.
A global take on employee benefit trends
The challenge for global reward and benefits professionals is to provide programmes and solutions that attract and retain talent, while doing so in a predictable, value-driven, and cost-effective way.
Aon’s Global Benefits Trends Study 2025 revealed the top five employee benefit priorities globally are:
1. Cost management
2. Competitive benefits
3. High-valued benefits
4. Consistency of benefits
5. Global minimum standards
Overall, ensuring benefits are highly valued by employees has risen significantly year-on-year to the top of the strategic agenda.
Aon’s research explores how organisations are delivering this value to their employees. For some, this means embracing personalisation of benefits – over half (60%) of leading multinationals were found to rely heavily on technology to enable a personalised benefits experience.
For others, it could mean more varied and technology-forward communication about employee offerings and total rewards. The research found the use of total reward statements to help employees understand the true value of their benefit package is increasing – 35% of multinationals use them in 2025, up from 27% in the 2024 research.
Deriving greater benefits value
Continuing the theme of deriving greater benefits value, Benifex’s Propel Reward and Benefits (2025) research, which draws on more than 3,000 interviews with employers and employees around the world, finds that over two thirds (69%) of global employees say benefits are having a positive impact on their life, but 62% still say it’s hard to see the full value.
This is further reflected in the finding that nearly two-thirds (60%) of employers think they’re offering an ‘excellent’ experience, but just 19% of employees would say the same.
Employers are working hard to close this gap, with 79% of HR and reward leaders reporting an increase in benefits spending in the past 12 months. This is paying off, with 94% saying that benefits have delivered a measurable impact.
Technology is helping to power these changes. Benifex’s 2024 research found that just 8% of respondents had a global benefits platform in place.
However, this year’s research found that nearly one-third (32%) of respondent employers had introduced a global benefits platform, while more than half (51%) were still considering implementing this type of technology.
Data gaps threaten benefits strategy success
REBA’s Benefits Design Research 2025, in partnership with Howden Employee Benefits, revealed the key benefits data points that companies find most compelling when evidencing programme performance or seeking approval for change or innovation.
From missing data and unusable formats to quality and interpretation issues, these challenges are hindering decision-making and jeopardising benefit project approvals.
For instance, the majority (84%) of respondents said employee mental or physical wellbeing scores were important or very important to them, but fewer than a third 30% had access to this data.
With health-related benefits dominating changes, employers risk a double whammy if approvals aren’t secured. More than one-third (34%) had had a benefits change proposal fully or partially declined owing to a lack of data.
This jeopardises not only employee engagement and wellbeing but the wider business objectives they are often aligned with, such as reducing absenteeism and enhancing productivity. Employers should act now or risk being left behind.
Employers shift to a digital benefits communications approach
Towergate Employee Benefits’ Strategic insights into workforce wellbeing and employee benefits research explores how employers communicate health and wellbeing support in the workplace.
It confirms the growing consensus around the role of digital communication. More than half (55%) of respondents said they focus on digital channels, such as apps and online platforms, to deliver health and wellbeing messages, as well as increasing the regularity of these communications.
However, challenges remain around tailoring communications effectively. Nearly half (43%) agreed that they find it difficult to ensure messaging is relevant to different employee groups.
The future for benefits strategies
WTW’s 2025 Benefits Trends Survey examines the future direction of organisations’ benefit strategies, how innovative solutions are being used to address these old and new challenges, and the tactics that employers are looking to adopt to deliver value.
The global research finds that more than two-thirds of employers now identify cost pressures as a central factor shaping their benefits strategy. Yet, the need to derive value from benefits is still essential.
The research anticipates a significant shift will take place in the next three years. More than half (57%) of respondent employers said they plan to reallocate or rebalance their benefit spend.
This highlights how employers are focusing on delivering benefits to provide value to their employees and reflect their company's purpose and values.
For more of the latest research and insights, visit REBA’s extensive library of reports.
