Since the Great Recession hit, more employees have delayed their retirement, which can cost employers on multiple levels. Older employees are at greater risk of disability along with other health care costs, which has led to an increase in disability claims, but the economy has forced many of these older employees to put off retirement until they are more financially stable, says Alex Dumont, associate vice president of product marketing at The Standard. A study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute also finds that many employees have failed to save properly for retirement, which also contributes to the delay.

"It is putting a more significant burden on employers' health care costs and their disability costs," Dumont says. "Employers need to be able to manage employee populations that are more readily impacted by health issues and disability incidents."

With an aging work force, more employers are turning to wellness programs to help manage health care and disability costs, Dumont says. For this age group, intervention programs are especially helpful because they can control chronic diseases that typically result in higher costs.