Employee Benefits and Economics Question?

Increasingly, employees are being allowed to choose benefit packages from a menu of items. For instance, workers may be given a package of benefits that includes basic and optional items. Basics might include modest medical coverage, life insurance equal to a year's salary, vacation time based on length of service, and some retirement pay. But then employees can use credits to choose among such additional benefits as full medical coverage, dental and eye care, more vacation time, additional disability income, and higher company payments to the retirement fund. Using the theory of consumer behavior, how do you think flexible benefit packages would affect an employee's preference between higher wages and more benefits?
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Great question and something I have seen change over the last few years. I have sold various group benefits and the biggest decline I have seen is supplemental benefits such as Aflac and other plans that employers do not pay for but employees have to pay for. People are opting not to add additional benefits and taking home as big a paycheck as possible. I could see this in your scenario where people take risks of not taking as rich a benefit plan to take home more money. Its just the type of economy we are in today.
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