Why Small Businesses Are Turning to Choice-Based Voluntary Benefits in 2026
The math on employee benefits is getting harder for small businesses. According to a 2025 Mercer survey, employers expect per-employee benefits costs to rise by an average of 6.5% in 2026. Meanwhile, KFF data shows that family health insurance premiums have climbed close to $27,000 per year. For small business owners already watching margins tighten, those numbers feel personal.
Here’s the tension: you need a strong benefits package to attract and keep good people, but you can’t absorb the same cost increases that large corporations can. The good news? There’s a model designed specifically for that gap — and it’s called choice-based voluntary benefits.
What Are Voluntary Benefits, Exactly?
Voluntary benefits are optional coverage plans that employers offer their team at little or no cost to the company. Employees pay for them through payroll deductions, choosing the coverage that fits their personal situation.
Common voluntary benefits include:
- Dental and vision insurance
- Critical illness or cancer coverage
- Disability income protection
- Term life insurance
- Accident and hospital indemnity plans
- Legal protection plans
- Identity theft protection
The employer makes these plans available; the employee decides which ones to enroll in. That’s the “choice-based” part — and it’s what makes the model work for small businesses with diverse teams.
How Choice-Based Platforms Cut Costs
A choice-based platform doesn’t just offer a menu of insurance options. It changes the economics of how benefits are delivered to a small workforce. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
1. You pay for administration, not for coverage you don’t need. Traditional group plans charge a flat per-employee rate regardless of how many people actually use them. With voluntary benefits, you’re primarily paying the cost of making the plans available — not subsidizing coverage that goes unused.
2. Employees pick what matters to them. A 28-year-old without dependents may want accident coverage and disability protection. A 45-year-old with a family may prioritize dental, vision, and critical illness. A choice-based platform lets each employee build a package that fits their life, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all group plan.
3. You avoid the surprise renewal. Group health plan renewals are one of the biggest budget shocks small businesses face. Voluntary benefits are employee-funded, so they don’t contribute to that renewal cycle. You’re insulated from premium increases on these plans.
4. You stay competitive in hiring — without breaking the bank. According to The Hartford’s 2025 Future of Benefits Study, 70% of employers believe offering additional benefits makes their company more competitive in the marketplace. Voluntary benefits let a 15-person business offer the kind of benefits menu that was once reserved for companies with hundreds of employees.
What MetLife’s Research Shows About the Gap
MetLife’s research has found that small business employees trail behind employees at larger organizations when it comes to holistic health, driven primarily by weaker financial well-being. That gap isn’t about ambition or work ethic — it’s about access to the kind of protective coverage that larger employers automatically provide.
Choice-based voluntary benefits help close that gap by putting real protection in the hands of people who may have gone without it.
What to Look for in a Voluntary Benefits Platform
Not all platforms are created equal. When evaluating options for your business, consider these factors:
- Simplicity of enrollment. Can employees understand and enroll in plans without a half-day meeting? The best platforms make it straightforward.
- Payroll integration. Does the platform handle payroll deductions automatically, or does your bookkeeper have to manually track them?
- Plan variety. Does the platform offer enough options to serve your workforce across different life stages and personal priorities?
- Year-round engagement. Is there ongoing support and education, or is enrollment a once-a-year event?
- No employer cost burden. The whole point is that employees fund their own choices. Make sure the platform structure supports that.
Getting Started
If you’re a small business owner looking at your benefits lineup and feeling stuck between “what my employees deserve” and “what I can afford,” voluntary benefits may be the answer you’ve been looking for.
A licensed benefits advisor can walk you through what’s available in your state, help you design a menu that fits your team, and handle the enrollment process so you don’t have to do it alone.
Call Trek Insurance Solutions at 888-960-0442 or visit trekis.net to talk through your options. We’re licensed in 19 states and built to help small businesses find solutions that work — not just for today, but for the long haul.
Trek Insurance Solutions is licensed in 19 states: NE, SD, IA, IL, WI, TX, TN, AZ, AR, IN, OH, MI, VA, KS, MO, NM, SC, GA, FL. Coverage options, eligibility, and pricing vary by state and plan. Contact us for details specific to your situation.