Trends in Employee Benefits

06/03
CRI

Upper Saddle River, N.J. – June 12, 2003 - Compensation Resources, Inc. (CRI) , a firm specializing in Compensation and Human Resources consulting, recently conducted a survey on the current trends in employee benefits. Participating organizations were asked to identify the benefits offered to their employees, and the percentage of their monetary contribution.

The most popular benefits, provided to all levels of employees, were health, life, and dental insurance plans, as well as defined contribution retirement plans, flexible spending (Section 125 Plan), and paid time off (PTO). The table below identifies the prevalence of these benefits by employee level.

Benefit or Perk	Executives	Sr. Mgmt.	Mgmt.	Supervisors	Professionals	All Other Ees.
Health Insurance	96.9%	94.8%	93.8%	89.6%	94.8%	93.8%
Life Insurance	90.6%	87.5%	88.5%	85.4%	89.6%	87.5%
Dental Insurance	88.5%	87.5%	85.4%	83.3%	86.5%	85.4%
Def. Contribution Retirement	70.8%	68.8%	67.7%	64.6%	68.8%	68.8%
Flexible Spending	70.8%	69.8%	68.8%	66.7%	69.8%	69.8%
PTO	61.5%	59.4%	58.3%	55.2%	57.3%	56.3%

With regard to health and dental insurance benefits, employers typically pay a percentage of insurance costs on behalf of employees and their families. The average percentage of employer contribution is depicted in the chart below.

On average, companies spend 25.61% of payroll costs on benefits* and perks, which corresponds to $3,316,087.58. Since these costs are very high, employers have started to implement cost saving strategies. In fact, 20.83% of employers offer supplemental compensation to employees if they forfeit certain benefits.

* Does not include government mandated benefits.