“In the coming years, employees, employers, unions, and the government will pay greater attention to the adequacy of Social Security benefits for the succeeding generations” (Martocchio, 2011, p. 284). Whether employee benefits are discretionary or mandated by law, one of the main reasons that employers offer benefits is to attract and maintain employees to their organization. Another factor is that organizations are able to take advantage of tax advantages when offering benefits. Benefit incentives also promote employee productivity
I feel the primary reason companies offer benefits are one, some are mandated, and two, to accomodate unforeseen situations that may arise that would affect their employees. I just took a survey that my employer sent me to see where and what benefits are important to me. They send out these surveys to see if they are meeting the employees needs and if they may need to change what they are offering.

As far as the future, companies may need to get a little more creative as the cost of benefits are increasing. Healthcare seems to increase by huge amounts year after year and when companies are asked to pay more money for each employee this can put a burden on what other benefits the company can provide. The company that I work for now gives us money for our HSA if we participate in what is called Life Steps. In order to receive the set amounts we have to complete different healthy activities such as making sure we go for our well check ups, programs relating to stress, weight management, or smoking. This will not only motivate the employees to make wise decisions but in the long run these programs can help in lowering the over all healthcare coverage

Discuss the role of benefits in compensation. Review the primary reasons an organization provides benefits to its employees; predict future trends in relation to employee benefits, including national healthcare; identify factors that should be considered when creating a benefits plan.

Benefits are offered because in order to attract employees and remain competitive they should be offered. Companies actually save money in giving benefits as oppose to giving employees higher salary, because benefits are purchased at a group rate. “Companies are increasingly investing in protection programs and services that are designed to enhance the well-being of employees in a cost-efficient manner” (Martochio, 2011, p. 225).Some plans are better served for companies when employees do not use medical benefits often and some have rates with co-pay and different plans to accommodate the company. In the future organizations are going to have to be more creative because of the rise of healthcare, other benefits will probably be diminished in my opinion it will change. When creating a benefit plan factors that should be considered is what is considered now, health of the employees based on questionnaire concerning smoking and drinking habits, weight and family care. Organizations have to be very careful to not