A Renewed Focus on Executive Benefits

Goldman Sachs Ayco’s Jonathan A. Barber, head, Compensation & Benefits Solutions, and Paul Clickman, head, Professional Services and co-head, Workplace Advisory Solutions, discuss the findings of the 2025 Executive Benefits Survey.

Despite periods of uncertainty where benefit offerings may have seen declines and alterations, the overarching landscape has—with few exceptions—remained relatively stable.

This year’s findings shared in the 22nd edition of our Executive Benefits Trends report indicate the overall prevalence of benefits is returning to early 2000s highs and nearly a quarter of companies have added to their executive benefits offerings since 2023.

Key Takeaways

• Executive benefits are receiving a renewed focus from compensation and benefits professionals. We saw a significant increase in companies that added new benefits for executives in 2025.
• Companies are evolving their approach to executive security benefits. There was a clear increase in the number of companies offering personal, cyber, and home security benefits for CEOs.
• A potential executive benefits expansion could be on the horizon. 20% of our survey respondents are considering adding new benefits in the next two years. The prevalence of cash allowances remains low due to the inefficiencies they can create.

Renewed focus on executive benefits

The regulatory scrutiny and economic crises leading up to and during the 2010s led some companies to eliminate certain executive benefits. In recent years, despite—and perhaps influenced by—economic and geopolitical uncertainty, we are seeing a resurgence in the executive benefits landscape. While the focus tends to remain on benefits that shareholders can see as driving organizational value, we see companies reviewing their offerings comprehensively.

• A significantly higher percentage of companies (24%) reported adding new benefits in 2025 than in previous years (compared to the 20-year average of 8%).
• Financial counseling remains the most prevalent executive benefit offered among survey respondents.
• Executive physical exams and tax preparation services, the second and third most common offerings, were available to CEOs and Senior Executives at a majority of companies.

An evolution in executive security

In response to escalations in executive security concerns —particularly targeting leaders in industries prone to public scrutiny and those facing heightened digital and physical risks—and geopolitical upheaval , many organizations have been reevaluating their executive security protocols.

• Organizations offering personal security benefits for CEOs increased by 10 percentage points over 2023.
• Cyber security benefits for CEOs have increased by 12 percentage points over 2023.
• Home security benefits for CEOs (27% in 2025), have reached their highest level since 2003.

Potential for an expansion in executive benefits

Survey respondents shared forward-looking intentions that could indicate continued expansion in the executive benefits space.

• More companies are considering introducing executive benefit(s) in the next 24 months (20%) than eliminating (5%).
• The most common benefit companies are considering adding are financial counseling services (27%) and personal security (15%).

For more on the executive benefits landscape, read the full report.

If you have questions about this survey or are interested in accessing additional benefits trends analysis, contact your Goldman Sachs Ayco representative.

About the survey

Over the past 30 years, the Goldman Sachs Ayco Compensation & Benefits Solutions team has tracked fluctuations in the prevalence of executive benefits through our biennial Executive Benefits Survey. Survey responses were completed by a total of 291 compensation and benefits professionals at a variety of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations between April 30 - June 27, 2025.