?Many European employers have outsourced their flexible benefits plan over the past three years, according to research by Mercer.
Its European employee choice in benefits survey 2012, which polled 560 respondents across 12 European countries, found that where respondents operated a comprehensive flex programme, only 16% managed it exclusively in-house, a drop from the 35% that did so in 2009.
More than a third (36%) outsourced the entire process, up from 28% in 2009. The proportion that use a mixture of in-house and outsourced elements has increased from 23% in 2009 to 33% this year.
Kim Honess, Mercer’s UK head of flexible benefits, said: “There seems to be a real move to outsourcing.”
Read the Employee Benefits flexible benefits research 2012
Read more about outsourcing flexible benefits