What is the minimum a company should offer for benefits?

Compensation and benefits are always a hot topic. Only 32% of US employees believe they are fairly compensated. Businesses and employees are constantly debating the right balance of salary, traditional perks like health and PTO, and now a growing wave of unique benefits.

It makes you wonder, beyond the standard, what kind of benefits truly resonate with employees today? And how should companies be structuring their overall compensation and benefits packages to best meet the diverse needs of their workforce?

Here are a few benefits that include what employees typically expect as a minimum, as well as some unique benefits offered by employers in the United States.

Minimum Expected Benefits

• PTO: 10-15 days depending on tenure and experience

• Paid Holidays: 8-10 days

• Health Insurance: Employees often look for employers who cover at least 50-75% of the premium for individual coverage. An “affordable” insurance premium is less than 9.2% of your yearly salary for the employee only.

• Standard Dental and Vision insurance.

• Retirement: 3-6% dollar-for-dollar match.

• Basic Life Insurance options.

• Basic Disability Insurance options.

• Paid Parental Leave: 3-6 weeks of paid time off.

Unique Benefits

• Unlimited Paid Time Off. Often associated with tech. companies.

• Generous Paid Parental Leave. Netflix offers up to 1 year and Spotify is around 6 months.

• Fertility Benefits & Egg Freezing Coverage. Spotify, Apple, Google, and others.

• Professional house cleaning services. Akraya.

• Tuition Reimbursement & Learning Stipends.

• Full-Body MRI Scans. 1440.

• Seasonal Ski Passes & "Snow Days". Burton

• On-Site Amenities. Many larger companies offer unique on-site perks like gourmet cafeterias (e.g., Google), gyms, nap pods, and even laundry services.

• Pet-Friendly Workplaces & Pet Insurance. Numerous companies are becoming more pet-friendly, with some offering pet insurance (e.g., Nationwide).

• Student Loan Repayment Assistance.

• Concierge Services.

What are your thoughts on these types of benefits? Do you see them as the future of employee packages? What should the minimum be? How should companies be prioritizing and structuring their offerings in today's competitive landscape?

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