By 2030, all Baby Boomers in the U.S.—those born between 1946 and 1964—will have turned 65, with about 11,000 of them coming of age every day until then.¹ But as these workers make the transition to retirement, one concern that’s top of mind for many is how they will obtain and pay for health care. “People are generally a little uncomfortable thinking about health care in retirement because they are going into the unknown, it’s complex, and people fear doing it wrong and paying huge penalties,” one benefits leader said. “It’s important to find a way that makes it simple for people to understand and less scary.”

When employees don’t see a sustainable path to pay for health costs, they may delay retirement.² Nearly one in five reported that they had done so to keep their insurance, which can hinder new recruitment and increase overall employer health costs.³ The question for employers is no longer why they should support employees in the transition to retirement, but how they can best smooth the path forward. Here, we’ll examine the challenges workers face as they enter this new phase of life, and the ways that employers can help these employees make a soft landing into retirement.

In today’s U.S. workplace, behavioral health conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders are both more commonplace and more manageable than ever. According to the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC), millions of working Americans struggle with mental health and substance use conditions.  These conditions can lead to challenges such as presenteeism, absenteeism, and reduced productivity, which in turn affect the workplace environment and employer costs¹. Both employers and employees need to adapt; both have a role in ensuring that these conditions don’t exclude otherwise qualified people from success.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects employees with behavioral health conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders if their condition substantially limits one or more major life activities. This includes conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. The ADA mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities, ensuring they can perform essential job functions without undue hardship to the employer².

"Benefits by Life Stages" was the overwhelming response to a recent NEEBC survey gauging interest in various benefit topics.  Perhaps this response shouldn’t be a surprise.  For the first time ever, workplaces may have up to six generations in their workforce¹, spanning across as many life stages².  While each generation is typically at a different life stage with unique benefit priorities, there may be some overlap.  As shown in the diagram³ below, each stage has unique employee benefits priorities. Recognizing and addressing these diverse needs – both by life stages and generations – and reconsidering a one-size-fits-all approach to plan design may lead to a more engaged, satisfied, and loyal workforce.

Characteristics and Recommended Employee Benefits
by Life Stage

Over the last several years, more and more employers, health insurers and tech companies are paying attention to the inequities women face, making efforts to better support women’s health and unique needs. When it comes to factors like affordability, caregiving, mental health and menopause health, there are gaps to fill. New benefits offerings, digital solutions and resources have entered the market as organizations try to create a more holistic approach to women’s health.

“Women tend to be the decision makers and caretakers in health care, both when it comes to the health plan they choose and when a health situation arises within their family. It’s important for us to design service navigation, products and programs with that in mind,” shares Katie Catlender, Point32Health executive vice president and chief operations officer.

Navigating the intricacies of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) can be challenging for both employers and employees. Typically, there are three types of FSAs:

1. Traditional Medical FSA
2. Limited Purpose Medical FSA: For employees with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and an HSA, allowing them to set aside pretax funds for vision, dental, and orthodontia expenses.
3. Dependent Care FSA: For employees who pay for eligible services such as preschools, summer day camps, or after-school programs.

According to SHRM’s 2023 Employee Benefits Survey, 62% of employers offered an FSA plan to their employees. Despite the popularity of FSAs, a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reveals a concerning trend: a significant increase in FSA forfeitures, with over 50% of Medical FSA participants leaving unused funds in their accounts by the end of 2022.

With the availability of newer treatment options for weight management – glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) medications – metabolic health is in the news, shining a light for the public on the impact of weight on overall health.

When evaluating patient well-being, physicians are increasingly reviewing metabolic health as an indicator of future health risk. Metabolic health factors – including a patient’s cholesterol profile, waist circumference, blood pressure and blood glucose – are interconnected. Obesity is a multi-faceted medical condition that typically manifests as a result of several factors, including genetic makeup, use of certain medications, lack of physical activity, excessive calorie consumption and sleep patterns.¹ There are over 200 conditions associated with obesity, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer.² It is well documented that even a 10% reduction in body weight has health benefits.

Nine years is the average period people live with a mental health condition before seeking help. Why does it take so long? Like so many things related to our emotional wellbeing and mental health, it’s complicated. Some of the reasons people delay seeking help sit outside an employer’s sphere of control. But not all of them. In speaking to over 16,000 individuals in the last 12 months, we’ve heard four themes about seeking support that employers can influence.

1- What to do?  What to say? 
About a third of all emotional/mental health cases start with the individual saying something like,

In today's ever-changing workforce, benefits are evolving at a rapid pace. From flexible work arrangements to mental health support, employers are recognizing the importance of offering comprehensive benefits packages that will attract and retain top talent. Yet offering these advancements may not be enough.  There is still the challenge of ensuring that employees are fully informed and educated about all their benefit options.

According to Employee Benefit News’ The State of Healthcare 2024, only 31% of employees who took a healthcare literacy quiz (i.e. what is a deductible, copay, etc.) scored over 70%!¹ Obviously, employees need more benefits information and education to make better consumers of their benefits. 

Retaining talent is the top organizational concern this year according to an isolved survey of 1,000 HR-decision makers. These same decision-makers say employees’ increasing expectations for the experiences they have at work is the biggest threat facing retention.

Although increasing employee expectations can be driven by external factors (like what employees see on social media and the consumer experiences they have outside of work), total compensation still plays a critical role. In fact, HR decision-makers say competitive compensation and competitive benefits are the top two investments that can be made to deliver employee experiences that matter.

For over ten years, NEEBC’s group mentoring has helped advance early-in-career Total Rewards professionals with their career choices.  While the program is focused on skills development required to succeed in this career, as well as career planning, it is greatly augmented by NEEBC’s in-depth benefits education led by industry thought leaders, conferences, best practices, and networking opportunities.  The group mentoring topics include leadership, public speaking, and communications. In addition, each year mentees decide extra topics most important to the group, which helps make the experience unique and meaningful for all.

The following sentiments were shared by recent mentees about the skill development sessions:

Reflecting on an insightful and engaging experience at the New England Employee Benefits Council’s recent conference, “Innovation in Employee Benefits: The Power of Progress,“ which focused on innovative benefits (including a breakdown by many life stages), point solution fatigue,  AI, and strategies to help control expenses without compromising coverage.  It was truly inspiring to be surrounded by a community of brilliant minds, all dedicated to the shared mission of helping our clients – countless organizations around the region and beyond – and their employees navigate the complex landscape of benefits with strategic vision.

The discussions around Point Solution fatigue resonated deeply, highlighting the challenges organizations face in managing an overwhelming array of solutions. In the era of information overload, employers must find a balance between value and confusion, which makes streamlining and optimizing benefits through innovative approaches paramount.  In the quest to tailor benefits packages for employees, employers are increasingly turning to targeted solutions to add a personalized touch. However, they face the delicate task of balancing customization with the risk of inundating employees with an excess of choices leading to less impact, and costs becoming a deterrent without a true ROI.

National and multistate employers have a lot to think about when it comes to administering paid leave in a compliant manner. In the ever-changing landscape of statutory leaves, employers are forced to monitor new laws and changes to existing laws and be ready to implement those changes around their existing benefits. I previously faced these challenges directly while working on the employer side for two large, national employers, and now focus on analyzing these regulations to help clients operationalize compliant leave and disability processes.

If you are an employer with a national footprint, or even one with employees in multiple states, it can be quite a challenge to keep up. Many mandating states make annual changes that impact employer and employee contribution rates, benefit amounts, notice requirements, and other statutory changes that impact eligibility and entitlements under each state’s program.

February is Cancer Prevention Awareness Month, and to many employers, that likely sounds like yet another opportunity to highlight standard prevention advice: quit smoking if you smoke, prioritize fresh foods and exercise, and make sure to follow cancer screening guidelines. But the truth is that there is much more to this issue than this one-size-fits-all advice. Increasingly, health experts and employers alike are discovering that no standardized message is enough to adequately solve this persistent problem.

FAST FACTS:
- A little over 2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year, and more than 600,000 die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.^[1]
- Research suggests that less than half of cancers can be prevented by a healthy diet and lifestyle alone.^[2]
- Only 14% of diagnosed cancers in the U.S. are detected by a recommended screening, per research from the University of Chicago.^[3],[4]

Paid Family and Medical Leave continues to evolve throughout New England and the country. While most of the activity has been at the state level, proposals have also been put forth federally. The programs passed by states vary in a number of ways, which leads to complexity for employers trying to navigate this landscape. Compliance concerns and complexities have also grown as the trend for remote work has continued, and employers that hire across the nation must comply with laws where employees work.

Massachusetts: Experience Over the Years
We have now completed our third year of the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical (PFML) program! In those three years, the program has seen changes in contributions, benefits, claims experience, as well as changes to how it operates and coordinates with other benefits.

To kickoff 2024, we once again called on our annual corporate partners to share their outlooks and perspectives on industry trends for the NEEBC community to consider in the new year.  The current landscape and workforce have taught us that benefits are more important to employees than ever, and the fight for talent, exacerbated by the labor shortage, has never been more challenging. 

Retirement is a significant milestone in life, and for many people, it can be an overwhelming experience. After years of working full-time, people's identity becomes closely tied to their careers. They are often unsure of what to do next, which can cause them to put off retirement despite having the financial means to retire.

That's why companies are beginning to expand their talent strategies to include life planning support for employees who are approaching retirement.

Student loan payments are restarting in October 2023, and many borrowers haven’t made payments for over three years. Luckily, changes to income-driven repayment options and one-time account adjustments can have big benefits for borrowers. This article can help you understand how to (1) prepare your employees for student loan payments to restart under the latest rules; and (2) the various repayment assistance programs available to employees to ease the burden of repaying student loans.

I Steps for employees restarting student loan payments:

Cybercrime continues to increase and pose a credible threat both to employers and their employees. According to the FBI’s 2022 Internet Crime Report, losses caused by internet crime rose 48% in the last year to over $10.2B. 
There are four types of threats retirement plan sponsors and their participants should be concerned about:

1. Unauthorized access and acquisition of their personal data.
Over the last year we have seen a number of large data breaches impacting leading social media, telecommunications, and credit reporting businesses resulting in the disclosure of over 800M customer records¹.

Every business leader is reaching for the same brass ring: ROI. You need benefits solutions that will move the needle with buy-in-worthy metrics that back up claims of success. And you need them now.

Health benefit costs per employee are projected to jump 5.4% in 2023 and continue to increase in the years ahead, notes Mercer. This is in sharp contrast with the prior decade, during which costs went up only 2.1% to 3.9% every year except 2021.^[1]

In an era where the significance of mental health is finally being acknowledged, a 300-person audience gathered in Las Vegas for a groundbreaking conference titled "Meeting the Moment in Mental Health: Real Community Solutions to the Mental Health Crisis."  Conference host, CareSolace, a trailblazer in mental health care solutions, holistically approached this topic with speakers who were leaders spanning state and local communities, public and private education, corporate and not-for-profit sectors, and, of course, healthcare. I had the privilege of representing NEEBC as a speaker identifying trends in Employee Benefits that focus on mental health.  My remarks aimed to illuminate a crucial aspect of this crisis: how employers can proactively address mental health concerns within their workforce. My focus was on simplifying access, advocating for affordability, and ensuring cultural relevance.  Any trends observed in this space offer insights into how employers can lead the way in nurturing a mentally healthy workforce.

Simplifying Access: The Gateway to Employee Wellbeing
One of the most formidable barriers to mental health care is the complex and often bewildering process of finding the right support. This conference emphasized the pivotal role that employers can play in simplifying access. By partnering with mental health care providers and platforms, employers can create streamlined channels through which employees can seek assistance.