Hewitt has recently completed a Flex Benefits study in Mexico. Eighty-one companies from diverse industries and varying sizes participated in the study.

There is a small excerpt from their findings. If you have any questions or would like a copy of the final report, please contact Diego Desentis Calleja in our Mexico City office.

About one third of the participating companies have a flexible benefits program. Most of the companies that currently do not have flex plans are interested in their implementation, which reflects the market maturity. At the same time, despite the current economic framework, none of the participating companies is considering canceling their flexible benefits plan. The most frequent obstacle to implement a flexible benefits plan that was mentioned by participants is its local and/or corporate approval. When a flex benefits initiative is presented, companies need to evaluate its cost-benefit. Therefore, a well structured business case that reviews the initiative’s aggregated value, evaluates the plans, presents a better cost control and reduction, and projects a better competitive advantage of the program is an excellent tool to obtain the required approval.

From Hewitt's point of view and because of its simplicity, scalability, trustiness, costs and risk, the flex level that could best satisfy the current market needs is Combo Flex.

The Combo Flex level of benefits includes programs in which there is a total choice possible for employees (limited by plan rules) so that they can chose among a series of alternatives for most of their benefits package. In this case, employee contributions on a pre-tax or post-tax basis (typically including pension plan and funerary expenses) are always allowed. The program rules dictate limitations but it is always possible to buy extra benefits for employees or dependants.

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