Employees would forgo pay rise for group risk benefits

The Group Risk Employer Research study - conducted by Lightspeed Research on behalf of Group Risk Development (GRiD), the trade body for the group risk industry - found 41% of the 1,000 employees polled were prepared to waive a pay rise of between 1% and 3% in order to receive group life insurance and group income protection from their employer.

Some 44% of employees questioned stated their benefits package makes them feel valued by their employer and 40% said they were more likely to stay with an employer that offered a good range of benefits.

When asked which benefits they valued most, pensions ranked most highly with nearly two-thirds of employees (65%) placing them in their top three highest valued benefits.

However, income protection, life insurance and critical illness benefits are also highly prized with 56%, 47% and 41% respectively placing them in their top three highest valued benefits.

Employer sponsored protection benefits were valued more favourably than benefits such as discounted gym memberships (4%), dental insurance (9%), health screenings (18%) and even private medical insurance (35%), which can be considered a cornerstone of many benefits packages.

GRiD spokeswoman Katharine Moxham said: "Our research highlights how much employees value their benefits package - and employer sponsored insurance - to the extent that many would opt for group risk protection benefits over a pay rise.

"Through the provision of group risk protection products - such as group life assurance, group income protection and group critical illness - employers play a vital role in ensuring that staff and their families are adequately protected from the financial devastation that death or disability can bring.

"More than that, offering this provision appears to convey that the employee is a valued member of the team and actively encourages them to remain within the business."