Where portable benefits matter most

Portable benefits matter most early in careers—but play a smaller role for other group

The latest Benefits 2.0 survey, conducted by Economist Enterprise and supported by Nuveen, finds that more than a third of workers (37%) in sports, media and entertainment say access to portable benefits would make them more confident to change jobs.

Demand is strongest early in careers. Nearly half (44%) of junior employees and 41% of middle managers say portable benefits would increase their confidence to change roles, compared with just 31% of upper management and 29% of executives. This suggests that portability matters most when career paths are still fluid.

However, the appeal of portable benefits is not as pronounced among other groups that typically value flexibility. For instance, workers in remote or hybrid roles—who might be expected to value these benefits most—show only marginally higher interest (39%) than those working fully on-site (36%).

An individual’s life stage also limits the appeal of portability. Parents (32%) and caregivers (34%) are slightly less likely to say portable benefits would influence their career decisions. For these groups, stability and job fit often outweigh portability