What You Need to Know About Lifestyle Spending Accounts

A lifestyle spend­ing account (LSA), also known as a life account, choice account, or perk allowance, is a type of ben­e­fit pro­gram that pro­vides employ­ees with a fixed amount of mon­ey to spend on var­i­ous lifestyle expens­es. These can include things like fit­ness class­es, hob­bies, trav­el, and oth­er per­son­al pur­suits that con­tribute to an employ­ee’s over­all well-being and work-life bal­ance. LSAs are becom­ing increas­ing­ly pop­u­lar as employ­ers rec­og­nize the impor­tance of pro­vid­ing flex­i­ble ben­e­fits that cater to the unique needs and inter­ests of their employees.

Accord­ing to our bench­mark­ing report, the demand for LSAs has risen dra­mat­i­cal­ly in recent years, with 70% of employ­ers plan­ning to offer them in the next 12 months. This trend can be attrib­uted to sev­er­al fac­tors, includ­ing the grow­ing need for flex­i­bil­i­ty in the work­place, evolv­ing employ­ee expec­ta­tions, and the desire to define one’s own well-being. 95% of employ­ees say flex­i­bil­i­ty is impor­tant in a well­be­ing offer­ing. By offer­ing LSAs, employ­ers can empow­er their employ­ees to take con­trol of their own lives and find the bal­ance that works best for them. In this arti­cle, we will focus specif­i­cal­ly on how LSAs work on the Fringe plat­form, pro­vid­ing employ­ers with valu­able insights into how they can imple­ment this ben­e­fit to attract and retain top tal­ent. To learn more about the ris­ing pop­u­lar­i­ty of LSAs and oth­er bench­mark­ing data, down­load our 2023 Bench­mark­ing Report and gain valu­able insights into the evolv­ing land­scape of employ­ee benefits.

Why LSAs Provide Flexibility for an Evolving Workforce

The work­force has under­gone a sig­nif­i­cant evo­lu­tion over the past few decades. Tra­di­tion­al­ly, employ­ees were pro­vid­ed with all the tools nec­es­sary to per­form their job, includ­ing a com­put­er, phone, desk, and chair. How­ev­er, today’s work­force demands more than just the basic tools. They want a work­place that caters to their indi­vid­ual needs and inter­ests, and pro­vides a holis­tic approach to well-being. For instance, research shows that mil­len­ni­als pri­or­i­tize a healthy work-life bal­ance, flex­i­ble work arrange­ments, and a sense of pur­pose and ful­fill­ment in their careers. This shift in employ­ee expec­ta­tions has forced employ­ers to adapt their approach to recruit­ment and reten­tion, and offer more than just a salary and ben­e­fits package.

As a result, com­pa­nies are evolv­ing their efforts to attract top tal­ent. In addi­tion to tra­di­tion­al ben­e­fits like 401k plans and health­care cov­er­age, employ­ers are now offer­ing flex­i­ble ben­e­fits, stipends, and hybrid work oppor­tu­ni­ties. These lifestyle ben­e­fits can include things like well­ness pro­grams, men­tal health resources, pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties, and more. This shift towards a more holis­tic approach to well-being has proven to be an effec­tive way for employ­ers to retain top tal­ent and boost employ­ee morale. Addi­tion­al­ly, the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has accel­er­at­ed this shift towards more flex­i­ble ben­e­fits, with many employ­ees now expect­ing hybrid work arrange­ments that pro­vide a bet­ter work-life bal­ance. At Fringe, we rec­og­nize the impor­tance of cater­ing to the needs and expec­ta­tions of the mod­ern work­force, which is why we cre­at­ed our plat­form to help employ­ers pro­vide lifestyle ben­e­fits that cater to their employ­ees’ unique needs.

Benefits of Lifestyle Spending Accounts

The pop­u­lar­i­ty of LSAs can be attrib­uted to sev­er­al broad­er trends in employ­ee ben­e­fits. One of these trends is the grow­ing demand for flex­i­bil­i­ty in employ­ee ben­e­fits. With the work­force becom­ing increas­ing­ly diverse, employ­ees are seek­ing ben­e­fits pack­ages that cater to their indi­vid­ual needs and inter­ests. LSAs can offer this lev­el of cus­tomiza­tion, allow­ing employ­ees to invest in ben­e­fits that are most rel­e­vant to them. Addi­tion­al­ly, LSAs allow for greater con­sol­i­da­tion of peo­ple pro­grams, pro­vid­ing employ­ees with a sin­gle plat­form to access all of their benefits.

By offer­ing LSAs, employ­ers can empow­er their employ­ees to take con­trol of their well-being. LSAs pro­vide employ­ees with more con­trol over their ben­e­fits and allow them to invest in their per­son­al well-being. This, in turn, can lead to increased employ­ee sat­is­fac­tion and improved health out­comes. Fur­ther­more, LSAs can help employ­ers attract and retain top tal­ent, as they pro­vide a unique and cus­tomiz­able ben­e­fits pack­age that meets the evolv­ing needs of the mod­ern work­force. Employ­ers can also save costs by offer­ing LSAs, as they can allo­cate funds in a more tar­get­ed man­ner and reduce waste. With the Fringe plat­form, employ­ers can eas­i­ly offer LSAs to their employ­ees, pro­vid­ing a seam­less and cus­tomiz­able expe­ri­ence that caters to the unique needs of each employee.

It is impor­tant to note that LSAs are clas­si­fied as tax­able income for employ­ees if spent. How­ev­er, the ben­e­fits of LSAs for both employ­ees and employ­ers far out­weigh this poten­tial draw­back. By offer­ing LSAs on the Fringe plat­form, employ­ers can enhance the employ­ee expe­ri­ence, reduce employ­ee turnover, and pro­vide a more holis­tic approach to employ­ee benefits.

How LSAs on the Fringe Platform Work

At Fringe, we offer an inno­v­a­tive solu­tion to meet the needs of mod­ern employ­ees and employ­ers with our LSAs. Our plat­form allows employ­ers to cre­ate cus­tomiz­able ben­e­fit pack­ages that meet the diverse needs of their work­force, while empow­er­ing employ­ees to take con­trol of their well-being. Fringe’s LSAs can cov­er a wide range of expens­es, includ­ing well­ness pro­grams, fit­ness equip­ment, and men­tal health ser­vices, to name a few. Our plat­for­m’s flex­i­ble design means that employ­ees have the free­dom to choose what mat­ters most to them.

One of the ben­e­fits of using Fringe’s LSAs is the ease of use. Employ­ees can eas­i­ly track their expens­es, and if need­ed, their expens­es require no reim­burse­ment. Fringe’s plat­form pro­vides users with a sim­ple and straight­for­ward expe­ri­ence, mak­ing it easy for employ­ees to take advan­tage of their LSA ben­e­fits. Whether an employ­ee needs a gym mem­ber­ship or ther­a­py ses­sions, Fringe pro­vides a user-friend­ly expe­ri­ence for employ­ees to access their ben­e­fits. Inter­est­ed in see­ing the Fringe plat­form for your­self? Cre­ate a free demo account and explore Fringe today.

Conclusion

In sum­ma­ry, LSAs are becom­ing increas­ing­ly pop­u­lar due to the evolv­ing needs and expec­ta­tions of the work­force. LSAs offer greater flex­i­bil­i­ty, improved health out­comes, and cost sav­ings for both employ­ers and employ­ees. The Fringe plat­form offers LSAs as a cus­tomiz­able ben­e­fit solu­tion that allows employ­ees to invest in their well-being and have more con­trol over their benefits.

Through LSAs on the Fringe plat­form, employ­ees can cov­er expens­es relat­ed to well­ness pro­grams, fit­ness equip­ment, men­tal health ser­vices, and more. The plat­form also offers bud­get­ing allo­ca­tion, expense track­ing and approval, and gen­er­al account man­age­ment fea­tures. With LSAs on Fringe, employ­ers can attract and retain top tal­ent, while employ­ees can expe­ri­ence increased sat­is­fac­tion and con­trol over their benefits.

To learn more about how Fringe LSAs can ben­e­fit your orga­ni­za­tion, reach out to the Fringe team and get start­ed today.

‍