Aon Hewitt - Executive summary rapport Getting the mix right | European Employee Benefits Benchmark Survey (EEEB)

Executive summary• As Europe emerges from a recession, many employees are considering their next job move. Non-cash benefits, including pensions and healthcare, will play a key role in helping them decide. • The survey findings show that an optimal mix of cash and benefits, can vary among national groups. The cross-border variation suggests that, when it comes to benefits planning, international companies would benefit from offering a degree of flexibility in the menu of benefits that they offer to their workforces. • While the popularity of different benefits varied among employees in the 10 countries surveyed, pension provision was the number one choice when asked what benefits respondents might be willing to exchange for a proportion of salary. • Nearly one-fifth of employees in the survey say that they have increased their private contributions to pension plans. This was especially the case in the UK and Germany. • A quarter of employees reported that they didn’t have a pension plan. • Greater financial protection was the second favourite benefit amongst employees, with more than one-third saying they would trade salary for an employer-sponsored health insurance provision in the event of ilness/injury. • A high proportion of respondents didn’t know if their employers provided health benefits. The survey found similar levels of uncertainty with life assurance benefits.• With regard to other flexible benefits, the most popular are employer-sponsored education and childcare facilities.• The least favoured flexible benefits are mobile phones and sports/entertainment days, although the popularity of such benefits varied widely among different country groups. • The prevalence of sick leave appeared to vary widely among countries. This was especially true in countries that allow employees to take off “social days” to deal with personal and family issues. • As companies develop strategies to retain their staff or attract new employees, benefits become an intrinsic part of the mix. However, across the full range of benefits, the survey suggests that employers are not doing enough to communicate their benefit provisions to employees. A high proportion of respondents in every country are unaware of employer benefit provisions and the value of benefits received. 4Employee Benefits: Getting the Mix Right