Flexible Work Benefits Slightly Decline, While Healthcare and Retirement Plans Remain Top Priority, New SHRM Benefits Survey Finds

SAN DIEGO, CA – Today, SHRM – the trusted authority on all things work, workers, and the workplace – launched new research in this year’s 2025 Benefits Survey, a comprehensive and influential dataset on workplace benefits in the U.S., during the SHRM Annual Conference and Expo (SHRM25) in San Diego and virtually. For 30 years, SHRM has collected data from U.S. HR professionals nationwide to measure the prevalence of employer-offered benefits, with this year’s survey addressing the need to adhere workplace benefits to the advancements of AI for the first time. 

Today’s employers face economic uncertainty, disruptive technologies, persistent inflation, and an aging workforce. These trends make benefits decisions ever more important — and potentially more complex. For the fourth consecutive year, leave benefits tied for second with retirement savings and planning benefits, as hybrid and flexible work enter a new phase in the workforce. 

Key Findings from the 2025 Employee Benefits Survey:  

The survey highlights critical trends shaping modern benefits strategies: 

• Health-Related Benefits Dominate: 88% of employers rated health benefits as extremely or very important, continuing their reign as the utmost priority for organizations.  
• Focus on Flexible Work: Despite a slight decline, 68% of organizations still prioritize flexible work benefits, signaling the importance of adaptability in talent retention. 
• Retirement Planning Gains Traction: Traditional 401(k) options remain prevalent with 93% of employers offering them, while 76% of employers now offer Roth 401(k) plans, up 3 percentage points from last year and continuing their consistent upward trend. 
• Family Care Challenges Ahead: The aging workforce and increased reliance on elder care remain ongoing concerns, with only 13% of organizations offering elder care referral services, a figure which has remained unchanged. 
• Professional Development in the Spotlight: Leadership coaching has risen significantly, with 47% of organizations now offering leadership development programs, up 3 percentage points from 2024, demonstrating a renewed focus on empowering future leaders. 
• Decline in Wellness Programs: Benefits related to employee well-being saw a significant decline over the last few years, with only 39% of employers offering wellness programs with resources in 2025, down from 53% in 2021. 

New in 2025 is the emergence of GLP-1 drug coverage, addressing type 2 diabetes and weight management. According to the survey, 23% of employers offer coverage for the drug. Additionally, SHRM asked participants about paid prenatal leave (beyond what may be required by law) for the first time, finding 10% of employers offer this benefit. 

This year’s survey also pays special attention to how new technology, including the increasing influence of artificial intelligence (AI), is shaping benefits. Employers are actively navigating how these advancements intersect with workplace flexibility, skill development, and wellness initiatives. 

“The 2025 SHRM Benefits Survey reflects the dynamic evolution of workplace priorities, highlighting how organizations are adapting to economic pressures, technological disruptions, and shifting employee expectations,” said Alex Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at SHRM. “As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the workforce, employers must leverage data-driven insights to design benefits strategies, balancing flexibility, well-being, and skill development. At SHRM we remain committed to empowering organizations with actionable intelligence.” 

For SHRM members, the 2025 Employee Benefits Survey provides an interactive online tool that enables benchmarking by industry groupings, organization size, and location (region and state). Members gain access to five years of historical data, providing deeper insights and trend analysis to make informed and strategic decisions. Non-members can still access the Executive Summary on the Benefits Survey page. 

These findings are more than numbers and charts; they represent SHRM’s commitment to building better workplaces for a better world. Employers can use the insights to create equitable opportunities, meet the evolving needs of their workforce, and adapt resiliently to the challenges of tomorrow. 

Results from SHRM's Annual Employee Benefits Survey will be covered in a session at SHRM 25 starting at 4:00pm PT. You can find more information here.

Methodology 

The 2025 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey was conducted from Jan. 21 to March 10, 2025. Online surveys were sent to U.S.-based professional members of SHRM, which yielded eligible responses from 3,969 participants representing independent organizations. Respondents were asked to provide answers regarding what employee benefits their organizations offered during plan year 2025. A stratified sampling approach was used to ensure coverage of all locations (including states) in the online benchmarking tool. Respondents represent organizations of all sizes — from two employees to more than 50,000 — in a wide variety of industries and sectors across the U.S. The data is unweighted. 

About SHRM 

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally. Discover more at SHRM.org.