Examples of common small business employee benefits

Small businesses are under increasing pressure to offer competitive benefits while managing rising healthcare costs and employee retention challenges. As of January 2026¹, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports small employers with 10 to 49 employees experience an employee turnover rate of 4.4%, compared to 4.0% for larger employers with 50 to 249 employees.

While you may think that only large corporations can afford lavish perks, some top employee benefits can work for a small workforce and budget. However, many small business owners overlook the importance of a well-rounded employee benefits package. As a result, they miss the opportunity to build a more engaged and loyal workforce.

In this article, we'll explore several examples of common employee benefits that can enhance employee satisfaction, entice job seekers, and help your company thrive.

In this blog post, you'll learn:

• What benefits matter most to employees today.
• The two ways small businesses can structure employee benefits.
• How to offer affordable healthcare coverage as a small business.

Employee benefits examples

If it’s your first time offering employee benefits, it’s important to focus on the perks employees actually want, not just trendy office extras.

According to PeopleKeep by Remodel Health’s 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, the most popular employee benefits are:

• Health insurance. Your employees want financial security when it comes to their health. Survey results show 92% of employees consider health benefits important. If you're not offering them, you're behind the competition.
• Dental insurance. Dental care can be expensive. Dental insurance helps employees with costs for everything from cleanings to extractions. If you want to maintain a competitive edge, include dental coverage in your employee benefits package.
• Vision insurance. Vision insurance helps cover eye care services, including routine eye exams, glasses, and contact lenses.
• Paid time off. Providing paid time off is a great way to help your employees rest and recharge their batteries. It also contributes to a positive work environment. It covers different types of leave, such as holidays, family leave, vacation days, personal time, mental health days, bereavement, and paid jury duty.
• Retirement benefits. By offering a retirement plan to your employees, you can help them plan for their futures. You can offer this benefit to employees through employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans or pension plans.
• Flexible work arrangements. A healthy work-life balance is a major priority for today's workers. You can boost employee morale and productivity by offering flexible hours or remote work options.
• Paid family leave. Paid family leave gives your employees the time they need to tend to their personal lives in specific situations. This can include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
• Life insurance. Another attractive benefit for prospective employees is life insurance. They find comfort in knowing their family is taken care of if they pass away. This can help them pay for expenses like burial costs, bills, and living expenses.
• Mental health benefits/wellness benefits. You can take a holistic approach to employee health by offering wellness benefits. This could include mental health counseling, dietitian/nutrition services, or gym memberships.
• Education benefits. Education benefits help your employees grow in their careers. This can include professional development opportunities, student loan repayment, tuition assistance, or tuition reimbursement.
• Disability insurance. Disability coverage helps your employees continue to provide for their families if they're unable to work due to an injury or illness.

Some other types of benefits you can offer your employees include employee assistance programs, employee discounts, and employee stock options.

Example of employee benefits structures

Once you choose the types of employee benefits you want to offer, you're ready to decide how you want to structure them.

In general, employers have two different ways to structure, contribute, and offer benefits to employees:

• Organizational-oriented benefits
• Consumer-oriented benefits

Depending on the type of benefits you're hoping to offer, you can offer all organizational-oriented benefits, all consumer-oriented, or a mix of both. Let's go over each in more detail.

Organizational-oriented benefits

Organizational-oriented benefits are employer-owned and employer-selected. This model gives employers maximum control over plan design, but limited flexibility for employees.

Common examples of organizational-oriented benefits include:

• A traditional group health insurance plan
• A retirement pension
• A formal employee wellness program

Consumer-oriented benefits

Consumer-oriented benefits are employer-funded, but employee-selected. This approach shifts decision-making to employees while giving employers predictable, defined costs.

Popular types of consumer-oriented benefits include:

• A medical expense reimbursement plan (MERP), such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA)
• A health savings account (HSA)
• A flexible spending account (FSA)
• Employee stipends for fringe benefits like wellness expenses or education
• A retirement savings plan, like a 401(k)

Personalized consumer-oriented benefits

In recent years, personalized benefits have become cost-effective options for offering employees a wide array of perks. Every worker is different and has unique wants and needs. Instead of offering traditional one-size-fits-all benefits, you offer your employees a monthly allowance and empower them to use it on the things that matter most to them. This makes them highly attractive benefits to both job applicants and current employees.

Personalized health benefits

While employers traditionally offer medical insurance as an organizational-oriented benefit, more employers are putting healthcare decisions back into the hands of their employees. They can accomplish this by offering HRAs to cover their medical expenses.

An HRA is a formal, IRS-approved health benefit that offers more flexibility for employees and more budget control for employers.

Through a stand-alone HRA, employers reimburse employees tax-free for individual health insurance premiums and more than 200 other types of eligible medical expenses.

HRAs represent a shift away from one-size-fits-all group health plans toward defined contribution benefits, where employers control costs and employees choose coverage that works best for them.

The two most popular stand-alone HRAs are:

• The individual coverage HRA (ICHRA): The ICHRA is for small, midsize, and large employers. With no annual contribution limits, you can offer any allowance of your choosing. You can also vary allowances based on 11 employee classes, or by age and family size. Employees need their own individual health insurance plans to participate in the ICHRA. Coverage through a spouse’s or parent’s group health plan doesn't qualify.
• The qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA): The QSEHRA is only for small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). It also has annual contribution limits. While the QSEHRA isn't as flexible as the ICHRA, more of your employees may be able to participate in this benefit. They don't need their own individual health insurance plan, just minimum essential coverage (MEC). Coverage through a spouse's or parent's group health insurance plan qualifies.

Employee stipends

Offering a competitive benefits package can be costly, especially when trying to meet diverse employee needs. Employee stipends provide a simpler alternative by giving workers a set monthly allowance to spend on benefits that matter most to them, such as remote work expenses, gym memberships, or tuition. Most stipends are considered taxable income, though certain reimbursements, like for tuition, can be tax-free if you structure them correctly.

Conclusion

Benefits play a crucial role in enhancing job satisfaction and fostering employee loyalty. As healthcare costs continue to rise, small businesses are increasingly shifting away from traditional group benefits toward more flexible, defined contribution models like HRAs. This shift allows businesses to offer competitive, personalized benefits without losing control of budget or administrative complexity.

Interested in offering an HRA to your team? PeopleKeep by Remodel Health can help! Our HRA administration software makes it easy to set up and manage your health benefit in just minutes each month.

This post was originally published on November 8, 2018. It was last updated on May 5, 2026.

References

1. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf