Only 14% of multinational firms offer personalized benefits: Aon survey

DUBLIN, IRELAND — Multinational companies are facing pressure to deliver more personalized and inclusive benefit packages, but most remain unprepared to keep pace with rising employee expectations.
According to Aon’s newly released 2025 Global Benefits Trends Study, only 14% of surveyed multinationals have established global guidelines to support personalized offerings, despite 65% of their employees signaling a willingness to trade current benefits for greater choice.
“Employees increasingly expect a consumer-grade experience when it comes to their benefits – one that offers meaningful choice, creates innovative solutions and aligns with their individual needs,” said Michael Pedel, head of global benefits at Aon.
“Companies are moving in that direction and communicating their progress, but must also manage the realities of cost and complexity. The opportunity lies in designing programs that deliver both value and efficiency at scale.”
The survey covered 518 global benefits professionals across 45 countries and 16 industries between January 27 and February 28, 2025.
Balancing employee value with rising costs
Cost management remains the top concern for 70% of multinationals, with medical inflation highlighted as the primary cost driver.
However, delivering employee value has quickly become a central objective, now featuring among the top three priorities for benefits leaders. This shift is creating a new challenge: meeting calls for flexible, personalized benefits while managing escalating costs.
To navigate this, 77% of respondents plan to negotiate costs with existing vendors, and 67% anticipate issuing requests for proposals to review their benefits providers.
Companies are also considering reducing investment in less-valued benefits to expand offerings focused on employee families, aging, gender, and lower-income employees.
Barriers to personalization: Governance and technology
Despite strong demand for tailored benefits, organizational and structural obstacles hinder the rollout. Only a quarter of global benefits leaders believe their current governance models can deliver on objectives.
By comparison, leading organizations—those with mature governance, integrated data, and executive alignment—are substantially ahead. These companies are three times more likely to have formal global benefits committees and have gained stronger buy-in through senior management endorsement.
Technology is considered a key lever for transformation, especially artificial intelligence. While leading companies are twice as likely to use tech to personalize employee experiences, only one in six organizations currently deploys AI in their benefits programs, a figure expected to triple by 2027.
“This year’s study confirms what many global benefits leaders already feel, expectations are rising, but the tools and governance structures to meet them haven’t kept pace,” Pedel added.
“To deliver real value, organizations must think beyond cost containment. That means embracing personalization, investing in inclusive benefits, leveraging data and analytics, and using technology and governance as strategic enablers. The companies that do this well aren’t just managing benefits, they’re shaping the future of work.”