5 Employee Benefit Trends That Actually Matter For 2020

This time of year is always flooded with articles touting top industry trends and predictions. Heck, I even published a 2020 HR Predictions piece myself. However, with the onslaught of information and listicles, it can be hard to hone in on what trends or changes REALLY matter for the upcoming year. Everyone has an opinion, so how do you know what to focus on and where to spend your energy?

Last year, we published a piece on 9 Benefits Trends for 2019. While we got great feedback on the piece, we felt 9 trends were a little hard to digest. That's why we put our heads together to identify the top 5 trends that are really driving change in 2020 and beyond.

I'll give you the TL;DR version here, but you can also download the full report if you want to nerd out over some HR data. Let's dive in.

Association Health Plans

Associations have existed in one form or another for quite some time, though original groups lacked the oversight and structure to really thrive—until recently.

On June 21st, 2018, the Department of Labor expanded eligibility and access to Association Health Plans.

What does this mean?

Well, under new guidelines, a group could legally qualify as an 'Association' if it meets these three requirements:

• it serves at least one substantial business purpose other than providing health coverage, even though its primary purpose is offering health coverage
• its member employers are either in the same trade or business or in the same geographic area, which could span several states
• the employer members in some sense control the AHP and health plan

Association Health Plans work by allowing small businesses and consortiums, including self-employed workers, to band together by geography or industry to obtain healthcare coverage as if they were a single large employer. Association Health Plans also strengthen negotiating power with health care providers from larger risk pools and greater economies of scale. These might sound like small changes, but they are really big game changers for small and individual employers.

We are anticipating the association market to blow up in 2020 as more associations are formed and more groups seek expertise and flexible tools to navigate the complexities of this emerging market.

Note: If you do happen to need an Association Health Plan expert, I highly recommend connecting with the folks at Cross Insurance. I had the pleasure of chatting with Scott Colford from Cross while putting this report together and was blown away by the depth of expertise. Seriously, these guys are nerdy about it (in a good way!), and you want them on your team if you're considering forming an association.

Perks For Parents

It's no secret that the United States pales in comparison to the rest of the world when it comes to offering paid time off for parents. Seriously—we are one of only four countries in the world that does not mandate paid leave on a federal level.

Thankfully, states are starting to step up to the plate and pave the path for change. As of publishing this article, seven states and Washington DC have passed state-level legislation mandating paid maternity leave. Several other states are also designing similar laws to enact similar changes to the status of paid leave.

Cost is often the primary roadblock for offering paid leave, but the long-term ROI is well worth the investment—see also: higher engagement, lower turnover, higher productivity, etc. (download the full report for specific stats). So, even if you aren't in a state that's considering paid parental leave, it is still a highly beneficial and attractive perk to offer.

Whether or not you're ready for it, paid leave is ultimately coming to your state at some point in the near future. NOW is the time to start preparing for these changes. Stay on top of your state's progress on passing paid leave legislation and what the details of that entail, and be sure you have a tech stack to make your life easier when it comes to rolling out and administering this wonderful new perk.

The Gig Economy

When referencing the 'gig economy', we aren't talking about that terrible punk rock band you were in during your college glory days (talking to you, Irish Couchsurfers). Rather, we mean the technology-enabled work that has emerged and is changing the way companies operate.

Freelancers contributed $1.28 Trillion to the American economy in 2018, and the gig economy is expanding 3-4x faster than the U.S. workforce as a whole. So, it's a lot bigger than many realize, and a lot of companies are outsourcing work to contractors.

This seems like a win/win, so what's the big deal? Well, oftentimes, companies rely heavily on contractors and essentially treat them like full-time employees... without all of the other regulations and costs and taxes that come with having that person as an actual employee.

Transitioning a "contractor" to an "employee" triggers federal and state tax withholding, health care, pension, worker's compensation, and a whole slew of other requirements—which many employers are happy to not deal with in lieu of using a contractor.

But where are the lines drawn? That's exactly what states are trying to figure out now.

On September 18, 2019, the state of California signed a sweeping new regulation that requires employers to provide full wages and benefits to gig workers. Under the new provision, workers in California could only be considered a “contractor” if the work they do is outside of the usual course of the company’s business. 

Several companies (notably, Uber) have already come forward and said they will NOT change the way that they classify contractors. Other lawsuits (notably, FedEx) have proven that, at the end of the day, the working relationship will always trump labels.

From an HR perspective, it's important to stay on top of any pending legislation on the classification of contractors and to be in the loop on any contract or freelance workers that your company might currently employ. Be mindful of how this relationship works and how it might change if and when legislation is passed to clarify these lines.

Additionally, if you do rely heavily on freelance or gig workers, evaluate your tech stack to see if there's room for a tool to help make management easier. Solutions like Snag and Upwork can help with the day-to-day scheduling and management of gig workers while apps like Earnin' and DailyPay offer instant pay solutions to expedite the payment process.

Mental Health

What was traditionally stigmatized as a topic kept far away from the workplace has evolved into a holistic movement that blurs the lines between work and personal life. Though it can still be a little uncomfortable, mental health has progressed leaps and bounds to become a common topic of conversation, which has helped countless people feel more comfortable addressing common issues faced on a daily basis. 

What exactly are we talking about? Well, 1 in 5 adults will experience a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. And of those, more than 50% will go untreated.

Depression, anxiety, burnout, stress, and addiction are top mental health concerns that often spill over to or are exacerbated by the workplace.

It's time to put the human back in human resources and treat employees like actual people. When done well, investing in mental health programs has a clear ROI and will help create a happier, more productive workforce and a workplace where people actually want to be.

Here are a few programs to consider if you haven't already:

Additionally, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the Opioid Crisis. An estimated 2 million Americans have substance abuse disorders related to prescription opioid pain medication and the number of deaths from overdose has risen drastically in the past ten years. One in three Americans reports knowing someone that is or has been addicted to opioids. This is no longer a problem that HR—or anyone—can ignore.

First and foremost, managers should be trained to recognize possible symptoms of addiction and there should be policies in place to handle such a situation. Additionally, make sure your health plan provides holistic treatment and counseling options to guide addicted employees through recovery. Teams can also stay ahead of the curve with prescription and claims monitoring tools to keep track of employees that are on opioids and monitor for any potential red flags before they become an issue.

Personalization

Have you ever unexpectedly seen and purchased something on Amazon because it was just so timely and easy? I definitely have not.... *sweat visibly forms on forehead*

Retail has come a long way from the antiquated experience that existed 10+ years ago, and the data shows that consumers love a convenient and personalized shopping experience. 

What if your employee benefits mimicked this easy, convenient and personalized experience that we’ve all come to know and love?

Voluntary benefits, which are often 100% employee paid, are all the rage. Even at PlanSource, we've seen growth in voluntary and ancillary products ranging from plans to fill gaps in health care like cancer insurance and accident insurance to personal interest products like identity theft protection and pet insurance. Simply offering flexible perks that employees can choose in an a la carte fashion is a step in the right direction.

Some companies are taking this flexible, personalized approach a step further. Reddit, for example, offers flexible wellness stipends that can be used in two different categories—wellness and personal development. For example, employees get a set amount per month or per year that they can spend on essentially anything they want that fits within that bucket.

As a recent yoga enthusiast, I really LOVE this idea as it makes the perk more personal to me and my lifestyle. I have a local studio that I frequent and would love to be able to offset that cost with a wellness stipend. And, when I move to a new city in 2020, I will be using an online subscription for yoga instead—but could still use that stipend to offset that cost. By switching to a more flexible model, benefits can be more personal to employees, driving engagement and creating a stronger connection with the company.

And if you're not sure what employees want—ask them! You are likely surveying your employees at least once a year to gain feedback, so why not work in a few questions about what they actually want and use that data to drive your decisions?

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There you have it, our top picks for 2020's top benefits trends.

What are you seeing as the biggest benefits trends heading in to 2020? Have you added any new perks or adjusted your approach to benefits?

Don't forget to dive into the full report—it's totally free! Check it out at https://plansource.com/2020-benefits-trends/.