Looking at non-traditional voluntary benefits by purpose helps employers prioritize what is offered. Purposes can be classified as buying and banking options; lifestyle and convenience options; personal care and improvement options; and financial safety nets.

Buying and banking benefits give employees alternative ways to save, spend or borrow. They help employees who are underserved by traditional financing options or who want access to services that aren't generally available to them otherwise. These options include pay cards, short-term loans, employee purchase programs, employee discount programs, credit union and flexible spending accounts.

Lifestyle and conveniencebenefits allow the employee to take advantage of cost savings that they wouldn't get otherwise because they are accessing these benefits through their employer. Plus, by paying for these through payroll deduction, they have the convenience of one less bill to worry about. Among the lifestyle and convenience benefits are child care, elder care, pet insurance, auto insurance, adoption assistance, auto insurance, cyber security insurance and legal assistance.

When employers offer personal care and improvement benefits, they show that they care about the whole employee while also encouraging them to be proactive about their physical, mental and financial health. Among the personal care and improvement benefits are financial counseling services, wellness programs, employee assistance programs and tuition assistance programs.

Financial safety nets offer protection from financial crises that can be potentially devastating for employees. Included in this category are home warranty insurance, homeowner's insurance, identity theft protection and long-term care insurance.

Benefits in each of these categories can appeal to employees of all generations, depending on their priorities and demographics. Profiling the generations through the eight segments, however, shows a more distinctive differentiation.

Instant Insights /

Customizing voluntary benefits goes beyond the generations

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