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Study of International Employee
Benefits Trends
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166 L0710119824(exp0711)
India
India – Profile
MARKET PROFILE

3rd largest global economy3

GDP over $4.2 trillion4

Annual national income per capita: $8205

Rapidly growing economy, but poverty is pervasive6

Heavily agricultural (18% of GDP), but rapidly industrializing7

Working age population (ages 15-64) expected to jump from 704 million in
2005 to 1.0 billion in 20308

Median age: 23.8 years9

Life expectancy at birth: 63.510
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
L0710119824(exp0711)
India – Profile
BENEFITS AT A GLANCE

Retirement benefits are dominated by a governmentmandated employer benefit called the Gratuity, by which
every employee, upon leaving his or her employer after more
than five years of service, collects 15 days of salary for each
year of service.11

Workers may also save for retirement with a tax-favored
vehicle called a Public Provident Fund, to which some
employers also contribute.

The life insurance market is dominated by the governmentowned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), but private
insurers are entering the Indian market.

A new regulatory body, the Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority, is expected to pave the way for more
modern financial products.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
L0710119824(exp0711)
India – Employer Perspective
Indian employers surveyed place controlling costs and increasing employee productivity as
more important benefits objectives than attracting and retaining talented workers which is
hardly a surprising finding in a country with a huge labor surplus and an expanding
population.
TOP THREE FINANCIAL CONCERNS AND WORK/LIFE GOALS OF EMPLOYEES
INDIA: MOST IMPORTANT BENEFITS OBJECTIVES CITED BY
EMPLOYERS THAT OFFER BENEFITS
Overview
CONTROLLING HEALTH AND
WELFARE BENEFIT COSTS
96%
INCREASING EMPLOYEE
PRODUCTIVITY
96%
HELPING EMPLOYEES MAKE
BETTER FINANCIAL
DECISIONS
90%
ADDRESSING DIFFERENT
ENEEDS OF EMPLOYEES
89%
INCREASING EMPLOYEE JOB
SATISFACTION
88%
REDUCING HUMAN
RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
88%
ATTRACTING EMPLOYEES
87%
RETAINING EMPLOYEES
84%
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
L0710119824(exp0711)
India – Employee Perspective
Employees say that despite their need for retirement products and insurance, such benefits
are not a major factor in their employment decisions. However any current ambivalence
about employer benefits may be more attributable to a lack of employee education about
the value of various benefits products than to a lack of need.


Nearly half (48%) of Indian employees surveyed whose
employers do not offer benefits would be interested in purchasing
retirement planning products through their employer, even if they
had to pay 100% of the cost.
51% of Indian employees currently lacking employer-provided
benefits say they would be interested in purchasing term life
insurance through their employer, even if they had to pay 100% of
the cost.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
L0710119824(exp0711)
India – Employee Perspective
When it comes to worries about retirement issues, a top financial concern among Indian
workers surveyed is having enough money to take care of elderly parent or in-laws.
TOP THREE FINANCIAL CONCERNS
WORK/LIFE
GOALS
OF EMPLOYEES
INDIA:AND
EMPLOYEES’
TOP
CONCERNS
ABOUT FINANCIAL SECURITY
APPROPRIATE HEALTH
INSURANCE
82%
81%
JOB SECURITY
80%
ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE ON
ENOUGH MONEY FOR
CHILDREN’S EDUCATION
79%
79%
Australia
BEING ABLE TO AFFORD
QUALITY CHILD CARE
76%
ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY A
HOME
73%
U.K.
MORE TIME TO SPEND WITH
FAMILY
73%
71%
Study
Methodology
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
India
79%
ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY BILLS
DURING SUDDEN INCOME
LOSS
RESOURCES AND TIME TO
CARE FOR AGING PARENTS OR
RELATIVES
ENOUGH MONEY SO ONE
PARENT CAN STAY HOME WITH
CHILDREN
Overview
L0710119824(exp0711)
India - Conclusions
Benefits Strategies for Tomorrow, Today
Indian employers regard controlling costs and increasing employee productivity as more important
benefits objectives than attracting and retaining talented workers. Despite the country’s labor surplus,
benefits are seen by employers in certain service-sector industries – or in areas in which multinational
outsourcing business has intensified demand for labor—as a way to satisfy highly skilled without driving
up wages:




Companies offering health and life insurance provide two financial solutions that are in high
demand.
Retirement planning products can provide employers with a long-term strategic option for
meeting benefits goals.
Employers can work with providers of financial products to educate employees on how
benefits can improve their financial security and quality-of-life.
Offering voluntary benefits is a way to increase the value of benefits offerings without
increasing costs.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
L0710119824(exp0711)