Trump's Immigration Crackdown Fails to Deliver Jobs for US-Born Workers
One year after President Trump’s immigration crackdown, net migration turned negative in 2025—the first decline in 50 years—yet U.S.-born unemployment rose and labor‑force participation fell. Immigrants continue to dominate manual‑intensive sectors such as construction and food services, leaving firms unable to replace them with native workers. Employers are raising wages, often above $20 an hour, but vacancies persist, squeezing margins for small businesses. Economists warn the reduced labor pool could act as a speed‑limit on broader economic growth.
What 2026 Open Enrollment Reveals About Cost Pressures Ahead
The latest open‑enrollment cycle shows advisers moving beyond price‑only negotiations toward tackling the underlying drivers of rising medical‑cost risk. Employers are pulling senior leaders—including C‑suite and board members—into benefits decisions, a practice once limited to the public sector. Off‑cycle renewals...
Employers Taking the Wheel with Benefit Design
Employers are increasingly steering benefit design, moving beyond one‑size‑fits‑all health plans toward data‑driven, employee‑centric offerings. A recent Benefit News video highlights levers such as flexible spending accounts, telehealth integration, mental‑health resources, and predictive cost modeling. Companies aim to boost care...
Maximizing Quality and Reducing Costs
Walmart teamed with Cleveland Clinic to launch a Cardiac Center of Excellence serving over a million employees and families. The collaboration introduced bundled pricing, travel‑enabled specialty care, and protocols that reduced unnecessary surgeries while improving outcomes. By standardizing care pathways,...
Why Pet Insurance Is Becoming an Expected Benefit
Pet insurance is shifting from an optional perk to a core employee benefit. Millennials and Gen Z view pets as family members and are demanding coverage directly. Employers recognize that pet insurance bolsters financial wellness and talent retention, while administration fits...
Inside Bank of America's Strategy to Support Its Employees' Caregiving Journeys
Bank of America has rolled out a comprehensive "family arc" benefits program that supports employees from fertility and adoption through child‑care, elder‑care, and college‑savings planning. The package includes up to $20,000 in fertility or adoption assistance, 16 weeks of flexible...
How Employers Can Drive Year-Round Engagement in Benefits
Open enrollment marks the start, not the finish, of benefits engagement. Studies show up to 80% of employees still misunderstand their plans after enrollment, leading to reactive use and higher costs. Employers are shifting to year‑round strategies—seasonal campaigns, personalized outreach,...
This Former CHRO Helps Benefit Leaders Work Successfully with the C-Suite
Cynthia Burks, former Genentech CHRO turned executive coach and board chair, champions data‑driven benefits that move beyond one‑size‑fits‑all programs. She argues HR must sit at the C‑suite table, translating employee value into business language to boost engagement and talent retention....
Why Claims Data Underestimates Mental Health Risk
Employers often rely on isolated claims or EAP call counts, which dramatically understate the true scale of behavioral health issues in the workforce. By aggregating medical, pharmacy, and EAP data—and even website analytics—companies can capture both prevalence and cost, revealing...
This App Helps Employees with ADHD and Anxiety Manage Their Day
NoPlex, dubbed the “chaos management app,” is built to help employees with ADHD and anxiety organize daily tasks and reduce stress. The app offers a free consumer version and a paid, enterprise‑grade tier that employers can purchase per seat. By...
Building a Multi-Generational Approach to Insurance Coverage
Insurers are confronting a widening gap between employee expectations and benefits delivery, as satisfaction with coverage fell to 61% in late 2025, down from 66% the year before. Younger workers demand fast, transparent digital interactions, while older staff prefer hands‑on,...
The AI Skills Gap Is Turning Gen Z Into Workplace Mentors
Reverse mentorship is reshaping workplaces as Gen Z employees teach senior staff AI fundamentals. According to International Workplace Group research, 62% of Gen Z are actively upskilling older colleagues, and 72% report higher team productivity from these interactions. Directors echo the trend,...
HR Teams Struggle with Decision-Making Due to Data Limitations
A new HiBob HR & Finance Report finds benefit leaders are transitioning from operational stewards to strategic decision‑makers, yet 82% say they lack timely, unified HR‑finance data. The study reveals that 68% cannot make fair pay decisions without integrated data,...
Caregivers Find Much-Needed Relief with This Unique Eldercare Solution
CareYaya, a student‑matching platform, connects college students with seniors and disabled adults to provide non‑medical in‑home assistance. By paying students directly at about $20 an hour, the service reduces care costs roughly 50 % compared with traditional agencies. The app’s algorithm...
Why Leaders Are Putting a Renewed Focus on PTO Policies
A new WTW survey shows 73% of U.S. employers will enhance paid‑leave programs within two years. Leaders cite employee experience, talent attraction, and retention as primary drivers. Caregiver leave is projected to jump from 22% to 39%, while parental and...
Employers Push Critical Illness Plans Amid Health Risks
Employers are increasingly adding critical‑illness insurance to their benefits portfolios to offset gaps left by high‑deductible health plans. A recent Equitable survey shows 31% of American workers filed a critical‑illness claim in the past year, yet only 49% feel confident...
AI in Healthcare Starts Long Before the Exam Room
AI-driven clinical tools are rapidly improving diagnosis and treatment, but they leave patients exposed to hidden financial risks. A case of an autonomous AI ER physician resulted in a $37,000 out‑of‑network bill, highlighting systemic navigation failures. While clinical AI promises...
Pinterest and Maven Team up to Provide Menopause Support to Employees
Pinterest has partnered with Maven Clinic to launch a unified menopause, fertility and parenting support platform for its workforce. The initiative aims to curb the $1.8 billion productivity loss attributed to menopause‑related disruptions in 2023. By consolidating care into a single...
Endless Meetings and Apps Leave Employees Struggling to Focus
Employees are now averaging only two to three hours of uninterrupted focus each day as meeting density and app overload surge. Hubstaff’s 2026 Global Benchmarks Report shows meeting frequency has doubled and organizations run six times more meetings than two...
The Fall of Personalization and Rise of Anticipatory Benefits
Benefit leaders are moving beyond personalization toward anticipatory benefits, as Businessolver unveils an AI‑driven platform called Sophia that predicts employee needs before they arise. The solution mines chatbot transcripts, service calls, and activity data to deliver proactive nudges and alerts,...
A Welcomed Turning Point for Earned Wage Access
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a December 2025 advisory opinion clarifying that employer‑integrated earned wage access (EWA) is not a loan under the Truth in Lending Act. This guidance removes a major regulatory uncertainty that has limited EWA adoption....
$1 Trillion Lost as Workers Delay Mental Health Care
A nationwide Renaissance Recovery survey found U.S. employees lost more than $1 trillion in earnings over the past five years due to untreated mental‑health and substance‑use disorders. Forty‑one percent said these conditions impaired their ability to work, cutting average income by...
Rethinking Employer Coverage for High-Cost Medications
Employers face a projected 9% rise in health‑benefit costs for 2026, driven largely by soaring prescription drug expenses. GLP‑1 receptor agonists, originally diabetes treatments now popular for weight loss, have become the fastest‑growing cost component, with 79% of employers reporting...
A New Addition to PTO: Heartbreak Leave
A recent Zety survey finds that one in three employees believes companies should offer dedicated “heartbreak leave” and many have already taken time off after a breakup. Younger workers, especially Gen Z and millennials, are most eager for the benefit, with...
Rising Health Costs Outpace Social Security for Retirees
Health inflation is projected at 5.8% annually, more than double the 2.4% Social Security cost‑of‑living adjustment. Medicare Part B and Advantage premiums jumped 9.7% for 2026, while Part D drug premiums have risen 50% since the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The widening...
Why Now Is the Best Time to Re-Engage Employers
The post‑open enrollment window is a critical period for benefits brokers to re‑engage employer clients and translate enrollment insights into actionable strategy for 2026. Employers are pressuring brokers to control rising healthcare costs while employees face mounting financial stress from...
How Employees Can Use LSAs to Pay for Groceries and Other Basic Needs
Employers are turning to Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) to let staff use benefit funds for everyday needs like groceries, childcare and health services. Data from benefits platform Compt shows 64% of partner firms now use LSAs as their primary benefit,...
New Leadership at Target, Walmart and Bridgestone West Focus on Employee Connection
New CEOs at Walmart (John Furner) and Target (Michael Fiddelke) and Bridgestone West’s chief people officer (Michele Herlein) are launching people‑first campaigns that prioritize frontline listening and direct employee engagement. Furner began with a company‑wide memo and store visits, while...
Health Savings Accounts Gain Popularity as Investment Vehicles
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being used as investment vehicles, with 4 million accounts – about 10% of all HSAs – holding invested assets, a 23% year‑over‑year rise. Total HSA assets grew 16% to $159 billion, and investment‑linked assets now represent...
Why Your Organization's Greatest Asset Is Its Own Collective Wisdom
The article argues that organizations waste resources on external consultants while the real source of transformation lies in their own collective wisdom. It critiques the reliance on imported best‑practice frameworks in a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible) world. By treating...
Included Health's New Plan Design Improves Employees' Access to Quality Care
Included Health unveiled an alternative health‑plan design that blends guided care, AI tools, and a copay‑first pricing model to give employees faster, more affordable access to primary care. The plan replaces traditional PPO/HMO choices with a hybrid that offers broader...
