Education and government employees perform critical public services, often with a deep sense of mission and purpose. But this sector also faces headwinds, including budget pressures and external scrutiny.
Education and government employers must continue attracting and retaining mission-driven candidates despite these challenges, especially when they can't pay top dollar. The right benefits package can support those goals while setting employees up for long-term security.
The 2025 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey offers a comprehensive look at benefits across organization sizes, locations, and industries. The data also illustrate how education and government employers stand out and how the industry's benefits are evolving.
How Education and Government Benefits Stand Out
Education and government employers generally emphasize benefits that support an employee's long-term health and financial security. By contrast, employers are significantly less likely to offer certain perks that other industries often provide, such as subsidizing employee-owned equipment or offering onsite food and beverages.
Long-Term Financial Security
Education and government employers tend to emphasize financial benefits that can support employees throughout their lives.
Traditional defined benefit pension plan: 53% of education and government employers in 2025 offer this benefit to all employees, compared with 17% of businesses overall.
Retiree health coverage: 49% offer this benefit to employees, versus 16% of all businesses.
Credit union access: 25% offer this benefit, versus 11% of businesses overall.
Correspondingly, this sector is less likely to offer forms of defined contribution plans compared with businesses overall.
Preventive Health and Wellness Benefits
Employers in education and government are more likely than businesses overall to emphasize onsite health and wellness benefits, including flu vaccinations and health screenings. Other standouts include:
Wellness programs with resources: 52% of education and government employers in 2025 offer this benefit, versus 39% of all businesses.
Onsite fitness centers: 37% provide fitness facilities and/or classes, compared with 21% overall.
Health fairs: 37% offer this benefit, versus 19% of all employers.
Leave and Time-Off Policies
Education and government employers are more likely than businesses overall to offer most leave benefits, including:
Leave donation programs: 56% of education and government employers offer this benefit in 2025, compared with 25% of all businesses.
Paid military leave: 44% offer paid leave beyond what the law requires, versus 32% of all employers.
Paid family leave: 42% offer this benefit, compared with 31% of all businesses.
A notable exception is paid time off (PTO), including both vacation and sick time. Less than half (49%) of this industry's employers combine PTO this way, versus 68% of all businesses.
How Education and Government Benefits Are Evolving
The education and government sector already featured above-average prevalence in multiple retirement benefits. Employers doubled down on these offerings in 2025, with traditional defined benefit pension plans (53%) and retiree health care coverage (49%) each increasing by 10 percentage points. Meanwhile, formal phased retirement programs nearly doubled in prevalence, from 7% in 2024 to 13% in 2025.
Similarly, the industry posted significant gains in certain paid leave offerings where it already had above-average prevalence. These include:
Paid time off to vote: 58% of education and government employers offer this benefit in 2025, up 6 percentage points.
Paid leave to care for immediate family: 42% offer this benefit, up by 6 percentage points.
Paid family leave: 42% offer this benefit, up 6 percentage points.
Some of the biggest year-over-year declines were in benefits categories where the sector already trailed businesses overall, including employer matches for defined contribution plans, subsidies for employee-owned equipment, and various bonus types.
What HR Leaders in Education and Government Should Do Next
This sector stands out for focusing on benefits that encourage work/life balance, physical health, and long-term financial security. In a time of great uncertainty, show candidates how your benefits can potentially support their career goals, physical health, and financial security well beyond their time with your organization.
One area to watch is federal worker job cuts, which have created a large pool of experienced, specialized talent. The right benefits package could help educational institutions, as well as state and local governments, attract top talent.
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