There are two ways of looking at Flexible Benefits:
- What benefits are provided and to whom and when
- How the benefits offered to staff are offered and administered
Flexible Benefits platforms have been around for a number of years and enable an employer to let employee’s customise their benefits package (within parameters set by their employer). For example rather than offering a pension scheme with a 5% employer contribution, with 4x salary lump sum death in service benefit and 50% of salary income protection benefit; an employee might have a physical amount of money to spend and they can select the benefits that suits them – this means they can customise, then review and update their benefits as their situation dictates.
Platforms will tend to work out more cost effective with larger employers and can often include the option to provide staff with a Total Reward Statement/Summary as part of the package.
For larger employers, wanting to provide staff with more choice and flexibility – this area is worth exploring…