Rising benefit costs easily number-one issue for Canadian employers’ benefit strategies in 2025
Many Canadian employers are re-evaluating their benefits offerings amid the challenges of the economic climate.
Overall, 55 per cent of employers plan to reallocate or rebalance spend over the next three years, up from just 10 per cent in the past year.
Nearly two in three (64 per cent) plan to tackle high costs by enhancing value or switching to better-value vendors across health, retirement, and risk benefits, while almost half (44 per cent) intend to address high-cost medical conditions, according to , according to the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) report.
“After a long period of high benefits inflation and in the face of a possibly weakening economy, employers are taking a step back and looking to focus on what drives real value for employees and the business,” says Anne-Marie Nawar, Canadian Health & Benefits Insights & Solutions leader. “That means targeting support and spending on the benefits that matter most, enabling personalisation, and helping employees make better decisions.”
Many employers are trying to cut down the cost of benefits, according to a previous report.
Rising benefit costs is the top issue (73 per cent) influencing Canadian employers’ benefit strategies in 2025, up from 40 per cent in 2023, according to WTW’s survey of 145 Canadian employers.
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