Every dollar they pay you in one form is one dollar they won’t pay you in a paycheck.
The original benefit from employers offering health insurance was the group policy discounts. They got discounts like 20% off what you might pay privately.
Now, some companies pay more. I am not kidding. I paid $112/month for a BC/BS health plan. The company got charged $269 for the exact same plan. Some companies pay less and get a great policy.
I agree paid time off is a benefit, but they have to account for your time off when figuring how many employees they need to hire to get the job done, and we need guaranteed time off, otherwise they’d work us 365.
I prefer to get cash for everything else. Pay me a good wage and I can buy my own retirement account, health, dental, etc. I work for a company now that has excellent benefits so I use them, but previously I always bought my own.
So, to me, pay me a good wage, give me vacation time and I’ll take care of myself for the rest. I have used that as a basis for negotiating higher salaries and bonuses than other employees by as much as 30%.
Everything you’re saying would be true if it weren’t for the government and the tax structure. I want as much remuneration as possible that ISN’T taxed. My employer would really have to bite the bullet if he wanted me to buy my own insurance. It would cost me more than it costs him, plus it would paid for out of taxable income. It’s better for both of us to have it paid by the employer. The only winner if I had to buy my own would be the government who would get more tax dollars. No thanks.