Despite demand for income protection tripling for UK employees between the ages of 20 and 59 years, just 24% of employers offer the benefit, according to research by global insurance and risk management consultancy Gallagher.
Its analysis of the benefit selections of 65,000 UK employees at 25 organisations that use its employee benefits platform found that demand for income protection tripled from 4% among employees aged 20–29 years and from 12% among those aged 50–59 years.
While employee personal accident insurance is in the top 10 most selected benefits across all age groups, this benefit is offered by just 12% of employers.
The data also revealed that employees in their 20s favour lifestyle-led benefits, with travel insurance ranking as a top selection, while critical illness cover accounted for more than 22% of selections of employees in their 40s, who sway towards protection benefits.
Critical illness cover was selected by 9% of employees aged between 20 and 29, compared to 15.6% among staff aged between 50 and 59.
Holiday trading was found to be the most popular flexible benefit across every age group. Take up rises with age, increasing from 19% among employees aged 20–29 years to 24% among those aged between 50 and 59.
Alistair Dornan, managing director of UK benefits in Gallagher’s benefits and HR consulting division, said: “As people move through their lives and careers, it’s natural that their priorities change. Early career employees often place greater value on lifestyle led benefits such as holiday trading or gym membership. As responsibilities grow, protection benefits, particularly income protection and critical illness cover, become increasingly important.
“Employers shouldn’t rely on long-held assumptions about what their workforce wants. Our data shows clear, evolving patterns in employee behaviour, and organisations that use these insights can design benefits that genuinely align to life stages and real employee needs. Use insights to modernise benefits strategies, close the gap between what is on offer and what people value, and strengthen financial resilience and long-term retention across organisations.”
