Singapore employers allocate 10% of benefits to healthcare: report

Many organisations may be over-indexing on medical spend whilst overlooking larger or longer-term cost drivers, the firm said.

Employers in Singapore allocate just 10% of their total benefits spend to healthcare, placing them well below global counterparts like the United States (44%) and United Kingdom (20%), according to Aon’s Global Benefits Trends Study 2025.

Despite medical inflation being the top global concern for 70% of multinationals, Aon’s data showed many organisations may be over-indexing on medical spend whilst overlooking larger or longer-term cost drivers—such as pensions, leave policies, or wellbeing programmes.

Globally, ensuring employees value their benefits has surged in importance, rising to the second-highest strategic priority, just behind cost management. Among “leading” multinationals—defined as those with strong governance and global benefit strategies—it ties for the top spot.

Whilst 65% of employees said they’d trade some existing benefits for more personalised options, only 14% of companies offer global guidelines supporting customisation.

In contrast, 32% of leading companies already have such frameworks in place, often supported by technology.

Communication methods remain surprisingly old-school. Companies mostly rely on emails (77%), intranet (76%), and handbooks (66%) to explain benefits. However, employees increasingly expect clearer, more accessible, and more personalised engagement.

Although nearly all firms are feeling the pinch of rising costs, only 25% are considering scaling back lesser-valued benefits. Meanwhile, only 37% are investing in wellbeing programmes despite their long-term value.

In Asia-Pacific, companies are more likely than global peers to recognise the impact of ageing populations and evolving regulations, but the region still skews heavily toward cost-first strategies.

Only 6% of companies globally report full adherence to their documented global benefits strategy. Even among those with a strategy in place, governance remains inconsistent, with execution often falling short due to weak internal processes or lack of leadership buy-in.

By contrast, leading multinationals are three times more likely to have formal governance committees, executive support, and transparent benefit guidelines across regions.

These firms are also better positioned to weather financial shocks and respond quickly to changes in employee expectations.