Does Your Benefits Program Still Cater to Nuclear Families?
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Married employees with families receive more benefits than their single coworkers. What are employers doing to close the gap?
ccording to the US census, more than 110 million Americans over the age of 18 are currently unmarried. That's 45 percent of the adult US population. And yet, many employers have been slow to adjust their benefits to support modern lifestyles. As a result, a significant value gap has emerged between the benefits offered to married employees and those offered to their single counterparts.
days off than single employees — partially because 22 percent of organizations offer employees additional PTO for weddings and honeymoons. Assuming a median household income of $56,516, or $217 per working day, single employees are missing out on around $775 in PTO value.
In terms of healthcare, the average monthly contribution to the healthcare Matt Jackson plan of a married employee is $461.80 versus $344.35 for a single employee. Over 10 years, that difference would New research from Thomsons Online Benefits result in a loss of $14,094 for single employees, asked 300 US HR decision-makers about the dif- compared to the healthcare support their married ferences in their benefits programs as related to counterparts receive. Additionally, married ememployees' marital statuses. ployees get extra pension contributions from 34 percent of employers. Shockingly, 90 percent of companies are offering additional benefits to employees who are marLack of Support for Single Caregivers ried, leaving those without a legal partner out of pocket. Disparities between single and married According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, apcoworkers can be seen across the entire benefits proximately 39.8 million caregivers are provid ecosystem, with everything from PTO and health- ing care to adults (aged 18+) with a disability or care to flexible work arrangements affected by illness in the US. These carethis imbalance. givers may not be caring for their children, but they still Losses in PTO, Pensions, need support from their and Healthcare employers. The discrepancies between benefits for single and married employees have real, significant monetary impacts. Married employees receive, on average, 3.6 more 14
Unfortunately, the needs of these caregivers are not currently reflected in most companies' benefits programs. According to the Thomsons report, 70 percent of companies offer paid family leave to employees with children, Recruiter.com Magazine
