Need to Know: Executive Benefits Are Becoming a Leadership Continuity Strategy

Keeping top talent remains a priority for employers. But as retirement timelines shift and leadership transitions become less predictable, retention is only part of the challenge.

The 2026 NFP U.S. Executive Benefits Trend Report, based on a survey of 273 executive benefits decision-makers, finds that employers are increasingly looking at executive benefits as more than a tool for attracting and retaining key employees. They can also play an important role in succession planning, leadership transitions and long-term workforce strategy.

Here’s what you need to know.

Retention is still critical, and the stakes are getting higher.

Eighty-one percent of organizations say they cannot afford to lose top talent. And employers overwhelmingly believe their executive benefits are working: 94% say they have been useful in attracting top talent, while 99% say they have been successful in retaining it.

That helps explain why employers are largely holding the line on executive benefits despite continued economic uncertainty. Eighty percent expect their executive benefits offerings to remain unchanged, even as organizations exercise greater restraint elsewhere.

The challenge is that keeping leaders in place is no longer enough. Employers also need to think about what happens when those leaders eventually move on.

Leadership isn't moving on a predictable schedule.

Half of employers report that key employees are working longer, and 56% say their key employees have become more focused on retirement preparedness over the past year. The anticipated retirement age now averages 65 to 67.

For employers, longer careers can preserve institutional knowledge and valuable leadership experience. But they can also create a bottleneck. When senior leaders remain in place longer than expected, advancement opportunities can narrow for the next generation of talent — even as organizations know that significant leadership transitions are still coming.

That makes succession planning less about identifying a retirement date and more about preparing for a range of possible transitions.

There is still a significant succession gap.

Employers recognize the issue: 62% anticipate an increased focus on succession planning within key employee and leadership roles.

But recognition has not always translated into action. Nearly half — 49% — have not implemented executive benefits strategies specifically designed to support leadership transitions. And many organizations that are taking action are more focused on keeping existing leaders longer through retention incentives or phased retirement than on knowledge transfer and successor development.

That creates an important opportunity to connect two strategies that have often been treated separately: executive benefits and succession planning.

Flexibility is becoming more important.

Changing retirement timelines are only part of the story. Executives increasingly have different financial priorities, career paths and planning needs.

Most employers believe their executive benefits meet expectations for flexibility, but only 9% say they exceed them, while 19% say they fall short.

Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans remain one way employers are responding. Eighty-two percent of employers offering NQDC plans say they have a high or moderate impact on plan success. These plans can give highly compensated employees additional flexibility around compensation, tax and retirement planning while giving employers another tool for supporting longer-term workforce objectives.

A benefit only creates value if people know how to use it.

The report also points to another gap: understanding.

Only 28% of employers say participants completely understand their executive benefits. Another 61% say employees mostly understand them but still have questions, and 11% describe them as mostly confusing.

Employers are beginning to respond. Twenty-three percent plan to increase education around NQDC plans during the next 12 to 18 months, while some are expanding financial planning and advisory support.

That distinction matters. A sophisticated benefit may look competitive on paper, but its value is limited if participants do not understand how it fits into their broader financial picture.

The bottom line

Executive benefits aren't losing their traditional role in attracting and retaining talent. They're gaining another one.

As leadership careers become less predictable, employers have an opportunity to connect executive benefits more deliberately with succession planning, retirement readiness, knowledge transfer and leadership development. The question is shifting from simply “How do we keep our key people?” to “How do we support them — and the organization — through the full leadership lifecycle?”

For employers reviewing their executive benefits strategy, that may mean looking beyond the benefits themselves and asking whether plan design, education and succession planning are working together to support what comes next.

Read the full 2026 NFP U.S. Executive Benefits Trend Report for additional findings on deferred compensation, executive benefits strategy, cybersecurity and leadership continuity.