Among employers which changed their benefits package in response to the Autumn 2024 budget, 43% have introduced salary sacrifice schemes, according to research by consultancy Broadstone.
However, this move may now be impacted by the thresholds on salary sacrifice announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the 2025 Autumn Budget.
The research also found that 15% of employer respondents reported that at least 2% of their workforce have reduced or opted out of pension contributions in the past year.
More than a tenth (11%) of respondents have definite plans to introduce private medical insurance benefits within three years, up from 9% in 2023. The proportion of those considering doing so, meanwhile, increased from 15% to 20%.
Just 14% offer employer-funded critical illness cover, however, 20% stated they are either definitely introducing it or considering doing so. In addition, 63% provide mental health or resilience training and 77% offer access to an employee assistance programme.
Damon Hopkins, head of defined contribution (DC) workplace savings at Broadstone, said: “The past two years have seen significant changes to the nation’s workplace pension provision with further reform on the way as the government undertakes its Pensions Commission on adequacy. In the meantime, employers have had to juggle significant increases in national insurance and economic volatility, while the 2025 Autumn Budget delivered another hurdle in the form of future changes to pensions salary sacrifice arrangements. This report examines how employers are approaching pension provision for their employees and the role they will play in the nation’s long-term saving moving forward.”
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, added: “Our first report was delivered at a time when the nation was emerging from the aftermath of the global pandemic. Fast forward two years, and the UK is still grappling with the some of those consequences, in the form of significant and sustained pressures on its public healthcare system. In this report, we assess how businesses are increasingly taking these factors into account when reviewing their health, wellbeing and protection benefits to tackle these issues and ensure productivity remains high in the workforce.”
