A pension scheme is the most popular employee benefit, according to a study.
Around 54% of workers chose this as one of their three most favoured perks in research for the annual Willis PMI Group Employee Benefits Index.
The second most popular is health insurance, preferred by two workers in five, which had risen by 3% compared with last year’s index. The attraction of health screening has also increased, now ranked as one of their top benefits by almost a third of employees.
‘The rise in popularity of health insurance is perhaps understandable with the media continuing its scrutiny of the NHS and its struggle to meet the demands of an ageing and growing population,’ said Mike Blake, director at the healthcare provider, which is part of Willis Towers Watson.
Private medical scheme members had peace of mind from knowing they could access healthcare quickly even if they did not make regular claims, he added.
Childcare vouchers, however, had declined in popularity with just 17% choosing them, 2% fewer than last year.
‘Childcare vouchers can play an important role in helping working parents, but this fall may be a consequence of the government’s new Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which set to be phased in next year,’ commented Blake.
