HK employers face rising benefit costs, financial strain: report

Mental health, health benefits, and financial wellbeing are the three areas most employers in the region are planning to enhance over the next three years.

Employers in Hong Kong are grappling with rising employee benefit costs and mounting financial pressures, according to a global advisory firm WTW.

In its survey, which gathered responses from nearly 2,000 employers across 20 Asia Pacific markets, WTW said that in Hong Kong—as in other developed APAC markets such as Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan—employers are contending with long-term demographic pressures, including low fertility rates and an aging workforce.

Mental health, health benefits, and financial wellbeing are the three areas most employers in the region are planning to enhance over the next three years.

According to the survey, 52% of respondents identified mental health support as a key priority, followed by 50% for broader health benefits and 28% for financial wellbeing initiatives.

The report also highlighted an emerging shift toward more inclusive benefit offerings, with 33% of employers planning to offer comprehensive caregiver leave (up from 17% currently), whilst a similar percentage are considering medical benefits focused on women’s health (up from 20%).

Interest in menopause-related benefits is also rising, with 25% planning or considering policies—up from just 4% today.

Healthcare inflation remains a significant concern across the region, with a projected increase of 12.3% in medical costs in APAC in 2025.

In response, 51% of employers are looking to derive more value from their healthcare vendors, and 38% are adopting targeted programmes to address high-cost health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental health.

Over 80% of those pursuing targeted programmes plan to scale them further within three years.

Looking ahead, 61% of employers in APAC—including those in Hong Kong—intend to rebalance their benefits budgets, reducing underperforming programmes and reallocating resources to areas that have a greater impact on employee experience and retention.