WTW 2025 Benefits Trends Survey
ZURICH / LAUSANNE / GENEVA, June 24, 2025 – Competition for talent continues to be the key business issue shaping the benefit strategy of employers in Switzerland. However, steering the right course is more challenging than ever, as the companies grapple with heightened economic uncertainty and greater financial pressures on budgets. This is according to a survey by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. As a result, companies are turning to smarter spending, sharper focus and using benefits as a strategic tool to attract and retain talent, address wellbeing and signal purpose and values.
The 2025 Benefits Trends Survey found competition for talent to be the top issue influencing benefit strategies of two thirds of Swiss employers (66%) in 2025, even if it is not as significant anymore compared to 2023 (85%). Other top concerns include expectations for enhanced employee experience (41%), work arrangements (38%), and financial pressure on budgets (33%).
“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. That means targeting support and spending on the benefits that matter most, enabling personalization and helping employees make better decisions,” said Reto Ebnöther, Head of Health & Benefits, WTW Switzerland.
Financial constraints are limiting the ability to deliver on wellbeing, while rising retirement costs are also a significant pressure point for employers in Switzerland. Thus, employers face greater challenges in delivering their strategy in key areas such as wellbeing programmes (33%), retirement benefits (30%), and health benefits (23%).
To address these concerns, employers are shifting their strategy. Few are expanding their benefit portfolio, choosing to instead focus on extracting value from their current offerings and improve financing, employee experience, analytics and administration.
In the next three years, 54% of employers plan to reallocate or rebalance spend. Additionally, over two thirds (68%) are looking to expand benefit choice. A majority (59%) plan to tackle high costs by adopting navigation solutions to support employees using benefits, to realign spend across benefits (54%) enhancing value or to switch to better-value vendors across risk and retirement benefits (36% / 34%).
Eager to address employee pressure points, companies are also looking to improve the following priority areas over the next three years: mental health, maximizing value, health benefits, retirement benefits, benefits aligned with ESG, and working environment. Many plan to adopt technology solutions, increase their use of communication and use nudges and navigation solutions to influence behaviors and enhance the employee experience. Regularly reviewing vendor performance, including employee feedback, is also a key action employers are taking.
“Organizations are facing more pressure than ever to deliver the right benefits strategy. Finding innovative solutions for old and new challenges and reshaping benefits to signal purpose and values is a good start. There is still a long way to go to address these pressure points, but employers seem to be going in the right direction to focus on what matters most to their employees,” said Reto Ebnöther.
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.
Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you.
In Switzerland WTW is based with offices in Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne.
