Become a benefits hero!
Top benefits trends
Hiring new staff. Supporting existing staff. Questions. Emails. Crucial conversations. Whether you work in human resources or run your own small business, any or all of the above are likely a big part of your day.
Providing cutting-edge benefits that meet your employees’ needs is vital in supporting recruiting and retention. WEX is in a unique position to educate you on the latest benefits trends because of our wide data pool built on our WEX benefits platform, which includes millions of HSAs and other benefits accounts.
Here are the most interesting and actionable trends from that data to help you support your employees.
HSA
HSA employer contribution
What’s the employer contribution sweet spot?
Employer contributions do influence employee contributions. How do we know that? More than 7 million HSAs are on the WEX benefits platform, giving us unique insights into participant behavior.
Our data insights team has learned:
Any contribution
of $50 or more will encourage participation.
For family coverage
a $1,500 to $1,750 employer contribution yields the highest employee contribution.
For individuals
a $750 to $1,000 employer contribution yields the highest employee contribution.
Data is from WEX benefits platform.
LSA
Lifestyle spending accounts
The last couple years has created a shift in needs around mental, physical, and financial employee wellness. Lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs) are perfectly positioned to support these needs.
Data is from our LEAP platform
FSA
Medical FSA spending habits
Hundreds of eligible expenses are available for medical FSA participants’ funds. And that list expanded when the CARES Act permanently reinstated over-the-counter products as eligible expenses. Learn more about what participants spend their medical FSA funds on.
Breakdown of medical FSA spending by category:
42% Medical
20% Dental
18% Pharmacy
14% Vision
5% Other
Data is based on categorizing of purchases made with FSAs on the WEX benefits platform
Percent of medical FSA funds specifically spent at:
Orthodontists: 14%
Drug stores/pharmacies: 13.7%
Optometrists/ophthalmologists: 5.8%
Opticians/optical goods/eyeglasses: 5.7%
Chiropractic: 1.9%
Medical FSA carryovers and grace periods
Dependent care FSAs
The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of flexible work arrangements has transformed the needs around child care and other dependent care needs. The year 2021 showed us that participants’ contributions to dependent care FSAs returned to pre-pandemic levels, showing these accounts are back in high demand.
Commuter Benefits
Participant spending habits
Hundreds of eligible expenses are available for medical FSA participants’ funds. And that list expanded when the CARES Act permanently reinstated over-the-counter products as eligible expenses. Learn more about what participants spend their medical FSA funds on.
Data is from the WEX benefits platform.
COBRA
Specific Rights Notice (SRN)
An SRN is a written notice outlining COBRA rights and obligations, including election forms. SRNs must be provided to all qualified beneficiaries within 14 days of receiving notice of a qualifying event.
of qualified beneficiaries who received an SRN chose to elect a plan under COBRA in 2021.
Data is via our direct clients on our LEAP platform.
OTHER
Mental health
More than one-quarter (28%) of employers in a post-open enrollment survey told us they changed their wellness offerings to provide more mental health benefits to their employees.
What did they tell us they are expanding?
- Free or expanded telehealth
- More Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offerings
- Reduced or eliminated copays for mental health services
- More virtual and/or app capability
Health literacy
If your HR teams are fielding a lot of employee questions about their benefits, we’ve compiled our lists with some of the most-searched terms and articles in 2021 in our participant knowledgebase.
Terms
- Rollover
- 1099
- Account number
- Reimbursement
Articles
- Eligible expenses for benefits plans
- Claim form
- General WEX benefits card information
- Medical FSA eligible expenses
- Carryovers for FSAs FAQ
