How Voluntary Benefits Strengthen a Small Business Benefits Package
Medical insurance provides essential protection, but employees may still face out-of-pocket expenses, lost income, and other financial challenges after an accident, illness, or unexpected diagnosis.
Voluntary benefits can provide an additional layer of support. By giving employees access to coverage such as accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, life, dental, and vision insurance, employers can help them prepare for a wider range of health and financial needs.
Why Voluntary Benefits Matter
Financial concerns can affect an employee’s ability to care for their health and overall well-being. According to Wellhub’s 2025 research, 68% of employees said financial constraints prevented them from investing in their health.
Voluntary benefits can help employees prepare for expenses that may not be fully addressed by medical insurance or an emergency fund. They also give employees more choice, allowing them to select additional coverage based on their personal needs, families, and budgets.
68% of employees say financial constraints prevent them from investing in their health.
Understanding the Options
Different voluntary benefits provide different types of support:
- Accident insurance may pay benefits after a covered injury.
- Critical illness insurance may provide a lump-sum benefit following a covered diagnosis.
- Hospital indemnity insurance may pay a set benefit for a covered hospital admission or stay.
- Disability insurance can replace a portion of an employee’s income when a covered illness or injury prevents them from working.
- Life insurance can provide financial protection for an employee’s beneficiaries.
- Dental and vision insurance can help employees manage the cost of routine care, services, and treatments.
Supporting Recruitment and Retention
Voluntary benefits can also help small businesses build more competitive benefits packages. Decisely’s analysis of client data found that employees with benefits stayed with their employers for an average of 30 months, compared with 14 months for employees without benefits.
Although voluntary benefits alone do not determine retention, they can contribute to a more well-rounded employee experience. Offering employees additional choices can demonstrate that an employer understands and supports their health, financial security, and individual needs.
Employees with benefits stayed an average of 30 months, compared with 14 months for employees without benefits.
Flexible Options for Small Businesses
Many voluntary benefits are employee-paid, allowing employers to expand their offerings without taking on the full cost of coverage. Depending on the carrier and plan, options may include group rates, simplified enrollment, guaranteed issue coverage up to certain limits, and participation requirements designed for smaller teams.
Because costs, eligibility rules, and plan provisions vary, an experienced benefits partner can help employers compare their options and determine what fits their workforce.
Decisely helps small businesses explore voluntary benefits, manage enrollment, and give employees the information they need to make informed coverage decisions.
Ready to expand your benefits package? Talk with Decisely about the voluntary benefit options available for your business.
About the Author — Mindy Dunham
Mindy Dunham Cross-Selling Sales Director at Decisely Expertise About the Author Mindy is the Cross-Selling Sales Director at Decisely, where she leads the voluntary benefits program, helping small businesses address key client challenges with the caliber of benefits coverage typically reserved for much larger organizations. With 13 years of experience in the insurance industry, she […]
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