Boston, MA — January 22, 2025 — Compt, the leading lifestyle benefits platform, today released its 2025 Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report, revealing a dramatic shift in how employees use their benefits when given choice and flexibility. For every $100 employers allocate to health and wellness benefits, employees actively spend $60 — a significant 60% utilization rate that signals real engagement— while caregiving support surged 300% year-over-year amid a national crisis where families spend an average of 24% of their income on childcare.
“It’s inspiring to see companies finally solving the support gap for their workforce, and one of the main reasons I started Compt,” said Amy Spurling, founder and CEO of Compt. “When employees can use benefits for what they actually need, from mental health support to childcare, they don’t just appreciate it—they use it. And the data backs this up.”
Key Findings:
- Health and wellness (18%), food (17%), and ‘treat yourself’ (13%) make up nearly half of all stipend spending, reflecting core everyday needs.
- Caregiving support saw a 300% increase as companies responded to mounting pressure—with childcare costs averaging $18,000+ in 2023 and 73% of employees reporting caregiving responsibilities.
- Despite inflation pressures, employees are actively investing in their well-being, with 71% choosing specialized providers and local vendors over major retailers.
- Quarterly stipends dominate benefit delivery at 66%, showing employees value regular, predictable support.
The 2025 employee benefits data, analyzed from a full year of transactions, span 65,000+ unique vendors globally, which suggests a clear evolution in benefits strategy. When given flexibility, employees actively invest in their well-being — from mental health support to family care. Compt customers, in particular, are seeing, on average, 94% participation from employees, which contrasts sharply with traditionally low participation rates of standard benefits packages.
“Compt has been instrumental for us to be able to increase employee satisfaction and utilization rates far higher than we could have ever achieved with our old perks approach.”
Melissa Salcius, Director of People Operations at Fictiv.
The Impact in Action
While the 2025 employee benefits data shows strong participation, employee stories highlight the true power of flexible benefits. A sampling of anonymized customer claims demonstrates exactly how benefits supported employees in their time of need:
- “529 contributions for my kid.”
- “Portion of rent.”
- “Security camera for viewing my elderly father at his home for safety.”
- “Pampered spa time with my daughter I hardly ever get to spend time with. She lives 1,600 miles away.”
“The high participation and dramatic shifts in spending tell us something crucial about the future of benefits,” Spurling continued. “Employees look to their employers for real support in managing their lives and caring for their families. Companies that understand this are seeing unprecedented engagement.”
Download the Full Report Here
About Compt
Compt is a global lifestyle benefits platform where companies empower employees with benefits and rewards they’ll use and appreciate — whoever and wherever they are in life. Compt’s flexible, easy-to-use, tax-compliant platform supports employees in all 50 states and more than 75 countries, offering a broad range of categories from wellness to professional development. For more information, please visit www.compt.io.
Media Contact
Lauren Schneider
Head of Brand and Communications
Compt
lauren@compt.io
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