One in five (20%) of respondents increased their spend on employee benefits packages in the 12 months leading up to auto-enrolment, according to research by Group Risk Development (Grid).
The Group risk employer research study, which polled 500 employers in October 2012, found that one-third (36%) of respondents said they believe auto-enrolment will have a positive impact on their business.
The same figure (36%) said they expect to meet the additional cost of auto-enrolment without cutting other benefits.
More than half of respondents said they would be open to offering group risk benefits, such as group life insurance, group income protection or group critical illness, alongside auto-enrolment.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson at Grid (pictured), said: “While employers have approached auto-enrolment with varying degrees of confidence, a month on from its initial introduction, it’s great to see that they are starting to recognise its value and considering further investment in their benefits package accordingly.
“Businesses are coming to recognise that they are the ones to facilitate greater personal financial responsibility. The introduction of auto-enrolment is putting the onus on employers to help their employees plan effectively for their retirement, but this is only part of the picture.
“Employers could potentially play a major role in ensuring their workforce and their families are adequately protected from the financial devastation that death or disability can bring and our survey shows that employers are ready to act on this lead.”
