By Priya Raman

A planned expansion of workplace healthcare benefits by nearly half of employers this year faces a stubborn engagement gap: one in ten employees have never tried to use the benefits on offer, IFA Magazine reports.

The two figures, drawn from the UK-based trade title's coverage of an employer survey, sit side by side and tell an awkward story for HR leaders weighing spend. Intent to invest is rising. The basics of getting staff to use what they already have remain unresolved.

What did the survey actually show?

The headline number — that close to half of employers expect to widen their health benefit packages over the coming year — puts benefits leaders in clear majority territory on expansion plans. IFA Magazine cites the figure in its write-up, but the available summary does not specify the survey's sponsor, sample size or methodology, so HR teams should treat the result as directional. What matters is direction, not decimals: a majority-led push toward broader offerings.

That shift tracks a multi-year move in how employers position benefits. Packages have spread past statutory basics into broader health and wellbeing categories — areas that now compete for the same HR pound as core compensation.

Where does the 10% non-use figure sit?

Ten percent non-utilization is the harder number for any benefits review to absorb. If one worker in every ten has never even attempted to access a benefit their employer funds, the cause sits in awareness, enrollment friction, eligibility confusion or relevance. Cost, on the employee side, is rarely the blocker for fully funded perks.

The juxtaposition also raises the usual adoption questions benefits teams chase every enrollment cycle. Which offerings see real traffic? Which quietly gather dust? Where does usage fall off — at launch, after onboarding, or after a qualifying life event?

What people-process decisions does this touch?

HR leaders reading the IFA Magazine figures should map the answer before they approve new spend:

• Total rewards strategy. A package that grows without usage data inflates cost without lifting perceived value in engagement surveys.
• Onboarding and comms. New-hire benefits orientation is the first mover on the awareness gap. If one in ten staff has never tried to use any benefit, the failure often lives in the first 90 days.
• Vendor selection. Providers with self-service portals and usage dashboards matter more when 10% of the workforce sits on the wrong side of the engagement line.

What's the read for the year ahead?

If employers add coverage on the current trajectory and the non-use rate holds, spend climbs while value perception stays flat. That combination is hard to defend in any year-end review. The forward question worth watching through the next enrollment cycle is whether the 10% non-use number moves once employers fold actual usage data into benefits-buying decisions.

IFA Magazine's report leaves that question open. HR teams will need their own numbers to close it.