This article is part of a recurring series highlighting recent talent mobility industry reports. If you would like the WERC editorial team to consider covering a specific industry report, email mobility@talenteverywhere.org.
The 2025 Benefits Trends Survey from WTW provides an in-depth look into how employers around the world are rethinking their employee benefits strategies amid rising costs, evolving workforce expectations, and continued competition for talent. Based on a survey of over 5,500 organizations representing 24 million employees across more than 100 countries, the report highlights the shift toward delivering greater value in a cost-constrained environment.
Rising Costs and Strategic Recalibration
Cost pressures have become the most dominant issue shaping benefits strategies. In 2025, 58% of employers identified rising benefit costs, especially those related to health care, as their top concern, up from sixth place in 2021. Financial pressures on budgets have also nearly doubled since 2023, making cost management a central theme in benefits planning. Employers are now prioritizing cost-effective solutions while aiming to deliver more value without necessarily expanding benefits portfolios.
Most employers are not adding new benefits. Instead, they’re reallocating budgets to enhance higher-impact offerings. Strategies include shifting funds from underperforming benefits and enhancing those that align with employee needs, especially in mental health, financial well-being, and core health benefits.
Growing Ambitions and Values-Driven Benefits
While budgets are tight, the ambition for benefits is growing. More employers are using benefits as tools for attraction, retention, and a way to signal corporate purpose and values. Currently, 39% of employers say their benefits are designed to be employee-focused, a number expected to grow to 46% over the next three years. Similarly, 41% plan to use benefits to reflect organizational values, up from 30% today.
This shift marks a move away from traditional, compliance-driven benefit structures toward a more strategic, values-aligned approach that requires a deeper understanding of employee needs and preferences.
Rebalancing Strategy for Greater Impact
Rather than increasing overall benefit spend, employers are choosing to “do more with the same.” In the past year, 74% of companies made no changes to their benefit budgets. However, over the next three years, 57% plan to reallocate funds toward higher-impact benefits. This strategic recalibration includes revisiting plan design, reducing or removing low-value offerings, and enhancing communications to manage expectations.
The WTW Strategy Navigator framework emphasizes five key dimensions to guide benefit strategy: portfolio alignment, financing, employee experience, operations, and analytics. Financing remains the top priority, but improving employee experience and operational efficiency are rising in importance.
Focusing on Employee Value
Employers are increasingly homing in on benefits that directly support employee well-being and offer tangible value. Mental health has emerged as the top priority, with 55% of organizations planning to improve related benefits. This is followed by efforts to improve benefit utilization (51%), enhance core health offerings (47%), and address financial well-being (33%).
The report notes a sharp increase in anxiety and depression among employees, leading to reduced engagement and higher absenteeism. To address this, companies are investing in preventive care, condition management, and better communication around benefits.
Regional differences also shape benefit priorities. While mental health and value extraction rank high globally, Western economies (e.g., North America, Western Europe) focus on improving the benefits experience, while Asia-Pacific and Latin America prioritize expanding health coverage and increasing benefit literacy.
Expanding Choice and Personalization
Offering employees more choice is another key trend. Currently, only 38% of employers offer flexible or voluntary benefits, but this figure is expected to rise to 76% in the next three years. Employers are enabling greater personalization by letting workers tailor benefits to their individual needs—enhancing both perceived and actual value.
Supporting this shift, companies are adopting better technology, navigation solutions, and behavioral nudges. Nudges delivered at key life moments (like marriage or retirement) and targeted communication tools are being used to help employees make better benefit decisions. Investment in these tools is expected to grow significantly.
Leveraging Data and Analytics
Enhanced data use is crucial in managing benefits costs and improving outcomes. Currently, 40% of employers rely only on basic reporting, but this will drop to 10% within three years. Instead, organizations will use predictive analytics, cost forecasting, and risk modeling to drive strategy. For example, 32% plan to forecast future costs, and 29% will implement stress testing on benefit programs to assess risk under various scenarios.
Organizations are also working to extract more value from vendors. Over 60% are renegotiating terms or switching providers to improve efficiency, and 28% are implementing preferred provider networks to manage health care costs. Programs targeting high-cost conditions like mental health, metabolic disorders, and cancer are also gaining traction.
Evolving the Role of Benefits Teams
The role of benefits teams is changing dramatically. With increased expectations and budget constraints, teams are being asked to do more. Sixty-two percent of employers expect benefits management to be integrated into broader total rewards strategies. Upskilling is a top priority, with a focus on analytics, technology, and newer benefit areas like financial well-being and family support.
Automation and generative AI are expected to play a significant role in boosting productivity. However, most employers prefer to build in-house capabilities rather than outsource, with only 15% seeing outsourcing as a future priority.
Conclusion: Smarter, Not More
Ultimately, the report concludes that the future of employee benefits lies not in expansion but in smarter execution. Employers must align benefits with employee needs, organizational purpose, and business outcomes. By recalibrating rather than expanding, and by focusing on what employees value most, employers can continue to use benefits as a powerful tool in a cost-constrained world.
For employee relocation professionals, the findings of the 2025 Benefits Trends Survey signal a shift in how mobility strategies should align with evolving benefits landscapes. As companies recalibrate their offerings to emphasize mental health, financial well-being, and flexible, personalized benefits, relocation programs must adapt to reflect these priorities. The growing use of data, technology, and behavioral insights in benefits delivery also offers new tools to enhance the relocation experience—ensuring that support is timely, relevant, and aligned with individual employee needs.
Ultimately, mobility professionals who align relocation packages with broader, values-driven benefits strategies will play a crucial role in attracting and retaining top talent in an increasingly competitive global landscape.