TL;DR Voluntary employee benefits are optional, employee-paid perks that go beyond traditional healthcare and retirement plans. They help organizations attract and retain talent by meeting diverse personal needs — without adding significant employer cost. In this guide, we’ll explain what voluntary benefits are, explore common types and examples, and show how benefits administration software like Selerix makes them easier to manage, communicate, and scale.

Picture two identical offers: same title, same salary, same medical plan. One gets accepted. The other doesn’t. Why?

In this case, because the winner covered what actually mattered: IVF meds, a modest student-loan top-up, maybe pet insurance for a senior dog. None of it broke the employer’s budget. All of it was available at group rates, payroll-deducted, and easy to enroll in.

That’s the quiet power of voluntary benefits — the flexible layer that turns a solid package into a “this fits my life” package. They’re optional. They’re employee-paid. And when they’re administered well, they become the reason a great candidate says yes and a great employee decides to stay.

In the sections that follow, we’ll define voluntary benefits in plain English, map the most useful types and examples, and show how to select and manage them without creating chaos, especially with a benefits administration platform like Selerix handling the moving parts.

What Are Voluntary Employee Benefits?

Voluntary benefits are optional programs that employees can choose to add to their core coverage. They’re typically employee-paid through payroll deductions, offered at discounted group rates, and designed to fill the gaps that traditional health or retirement plans don’t cover.

Think of them as the “custom options” on top of the standard package. An employee might add dental and vision coverage, while another chooses life insurance and identity theft protection. The point is flexibility: each person gets to build a mix that fits their own stage of life and priorities.

Key characteristics of voluntary employee benefits

• Optional: Employees can decide which programs to participate in, if any.
• Employee-paid: Most voluntary benefits are fully funded by employees through payroll deduction, so employers can expand offerings without major added cost.
• Group-rated: Because they’re purchased collectively, rates are generally lower than if an employee bought the same coverage on their own.
• Customizable: Employers can select which voluntary benefits to offer and align them with the needs of their workforce.
  

In short, voluntary employee benefits give companies a way to offer more choice without more overhead, and they give employees a way to access valuable coverage at affordable prices.

Why Voluntary Benefits Matter for Employers and Employees

Voluntary benefits have become one of the most effective ways to meet employees’ changing expectations without overextending budgets. They help organizations compete for talent, build loyalty, and create a benefits experience that feels genuinely personal.

Why they matter for employers

In a competitive market, voluntary benefits allow companies to stand out without raising fixed costs. Offering access to programs like supplemental health coverage, financial wellness tools, or pet insurance signals that your organization cares about the whole employee, not just their productivity.

They also strengthen retention. In fact, according to our 2025 Selerix Employee Benefits Survey, 73% of employees said benefits matter as much or more than pay when deciding whether to stay with their employer. Expanding your voluntary options can make the difference between keeping great talent and losing them to a company with more modern benefits.

Why they matter for employees

For employees, voluntary benefits are often the bridge between “covered” and “secure.” A disability plan might keep someone financially stable during recovery. Legal insurance could help them navigate an adoption or housing issue. A student loan program could ease a burden that salary alone can’t fix.

These programs give people affordable access to coverage they might never seek out on their own. Because they’re purchased through work, employees save money and avoid the hassle of managing multiple vendors or policies.

Ultimately, the best way to manage employee benefits — especially voluntary benefits — is to expand choice and control. These are the two things employees consistently value most in their overall experience.

When managed through a centralized benefits administration platform like Selerix, employers can make these offerings visible, easy to understand, and simple to enroll in, helping employees actually use the benefits designed for them, or navigate mid-year employee benefits and changes.

Types of Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary benefits come in many forms, but they typically fall into three broad categories: insurance-based coverage, financial wellness support, and lifestyle or family-focused perks. Each plays a different role in supporting employees’ total well-being and employee experience — and together, they help create a more balanced and resilient workforce.

1. Insurance-Based Voluntary Benefits

These are the most traditional and widely recognized types of voluntary benefits. They extend the protection of core health coverage to include more specific risks or life events.

Common examples include:

• Dental insurance – Covers routine care, preventive visits, and major procedures at a fraction of out-of-pocket costs.
• Vision insurance – Helps with exams, glasses, and contact lenses, often including discounts for LASIK or other corrective procedures.
• Life insurance – Offers additional coverage beyond the employer-paid base policy. Employees can elect higher amounts or add family members.
• Disability insurance (short- and long-term) – Replaces a portion of income during illness, injury, or recovery periods.
• Accident, critical illness, or hospital indemnity insurance – Provides lump-sum payments to offset unexpected medical expenses.
  

These programs deliver peace of mind and financial protection — and because they’re voluntary, employers can offer them without absorbing the premium cost. 

2. Financial Wellness Benefits

Financial stability is directly tied to productivity and retention. That’s why financial wellness programs are becoming one of the fastest-growing categories of voluntary benefits.

Examples include:

• Student loan repayment or refinancing programs
• Identity theft protection
• Emergency savings or rainy-day funds
• Financial counseling or budgeting tools
• Retirement plan add-ons, such as after-tax savings options or fractional investing features
  

These benefits help employees plan for the future, recover from unexpected setbacks, and build financial confidence — all of which contribute to overall well-being and loyalty. 

3. Lifestyle and Family Support Benefits

The modern workforce expects benefits that reflect the realities of daily life. Employers are responding with creative, lifestyle-oriented voluntary options that support personal priorities and reduce stress outside of work — and even help to manage benefits for a mobile workforce. 

Examples include:

• Pet insurance
• Legal assistance plans
• Childcare support or backup care services
• Elder care resources for employees supporting aging parents
• Gym memberships or wellness stipends
• Telehealth and virtual therapy options
• Fertility or family planning assistance
• Subscription or technology discounts
  

These programs help employees feel supported as whole people — not just as workers — and they strengthen the culture of care that keeps engagement high.

Voluntary Benefits Examples Employers Commonly Offer

Every workforce is different, but a few voluntary benefits examples appear consistently across high-performing organizations. These are the programs employees tend to recognize, use, and appreciate the most.

Below are ten of the most common voluntary benefits offered by employers in 2025 — including a few newer additions that reflect how employee needs are changing.

1. Dental and Vision Insurance

Still among the most popular voluntary options, dental and vision plans remain affordable ways to improve health outcomes and satisfaction.

2. Life and Disability Insurance

These programs help protect employees’ families and income during major life changes or unexpected events. Many employers now offer portable life insurance policies employees can keep if they change jobs.

3. Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Coverage

Supplemental medical benefits offer financial protection against high-deductible plan costs, bridging gaps for employees who might otherwise delay care.

4. Student Loan Repayment Assistance

With education costs still weighing heavily on younger workers, this perk has become a differentiator. Some employers match loan payments the way they match retirement contributions.

5. Identity Theft Protection

Digital security is now a personal priority. Identity protection services help employees monitor and recover from data breaches or fraud — an increasingly valued modern benefit.

6. Pet Insurance

Pet care is expensive, and many employees see their animals as family. Offering discounted pet insurance plans has become one of the most loved voluntary perks for both onsite and remote workers.

7. Legal Services and Financial Planning

These programs offer affordable access to legal consultations, estate planning, and financial coaching — especially helpful for employees managing complex personal transitions.

8. Wellness and Fitness Programs

From gym memberships and fitness app discounts to home exercise equipment stipends, these voluntary benefits boost both health and morale.

9. Family Planning and Fertility Support

Employers increasingly partner with benefits providers to cover fertility treatments, adoption assistance, or surrogacy costs — helping build inclusive, supportive cultures.

10. Lifestyle and Tech Perks

The newest wave of voluntary benefits includes stipends for streaming services, home office setups, and travel discounts — small but memorable perks that enhance everyday life.

Offering even a few of these programs can make your benefits package feel more modern and relevant. The key is to choose benefits that align with your workforce’s demographics, values, and lifestyle — and to communicate them clearly.

How to Choose the Right Voluntary Benefits for Your Workforce

Choosing the right mix of voluntary benefits isn’t about offering everything under the sun. It’s about understanding your people — what they value, what they worry about, and what might make their lives a little easier.

A good starting point is to think about your workforce in terms of life stage, lifestyle, and location.

1. Match benefits to life stage

• Gen Z and early-career employees often prioritize student loan assistance, mental health access, and financial literacy.
  
• Millennials and Gen X tend to value family-focused options such as childcare, fertility support, or supplemental health coverage.
  
• Baby Boomers may be more interested in long-term care, legal services, or expanded retirement tools.
  

This doesn’t mean segmenting people into rigid categories — it means designing choice into your program so employees can personalize it for their stage of life.

2. Use data to guide decisions

Look beyond surveys. Enrollment patterns, claims data, and HRIS demographics can all reveal what your employees actually use or need. For instance, low participation in certain programs may indicate awareness problems, not lack of interest.

Selerix’s recent Employee Benefits Survey found that only 27% of employees say they fully understand their benefits. The insight for HR is clear: before adding new options, make sure people understand the ones they already have.

3. Balance impact with administrative effort

Voluntary benefits work best when they’re easy to manage and communicate. Avoid programs that create more manual work than value. The right administration partner can simplify enrollment, eligibility tracking, and employee communication — so your team can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.

4. Partner with your broker or advisor

Your benefits broker can help evaluate providers, compare rates, and assess employee demand. Together, you can design a voluntary benefits lineup that balances cost efficiency with meaningful choice.

When you align your offerings to employee needs and operational capacity, voluntary benefits stop being a “nice extra” and start becoming a differentiator for your employer brand.

Simplify and Scale Voluntary Benefits Using Benefits Administration Software

The more benefits you offer, the more complex administration becomes. Each voluntary program adds a new layer of eligibility, payroll deductions, carrier files, and communication. Without the right infrastructure, what begins as a smart retention strategy can quickly turn into a logistical tangle.

That’s where technology earns its keep. A modern benefits administration platform can help HR teams deliver a wider range of voluntary benefits without overwhelming their bandwidth.

With a platform like Selerix, employers and brokers can:

• Centralize enrollment so employees can explore all their voluntary options in one place.
• Automate payroll deductions and carrier file feeds to keep data accurate and consistent.
• Personalize communication using built-in tools that help employees understand what each benefit offers and how to enroll.
• Track participation and ROI through real-time reporting, making it easy to see which programs are resonating and which might need reintroduction.
• Stay compliant by managing documentation and eligibility seamlessly across all benefit types.
  

Technology doesn’t replace the human side of HR — it amplifies it. It gives your team more time to listen, adapt, and communicate the programs that actually matter to your workforce.

Voluntary benefits are at their best when they’re visible, accessible, and clearly understood. With Selerix, you can make that happen — turning variety into value, and choice into clarity.

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