Q&A: Experts Share What Benefits Trends Will Shape the Next 5 Years

As the benefits landscape continues to shift and evolve, what trends, innovations or challenges should employers watch for? And, how can they prepare?

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To learn more, Workspan Daily (WD) spoke with the following benefits experts about their predictions and tips for HR professionals to consider as they look ahead:

• Bianka Douglas, the vice president and people business leader at Prudential Group Insurance;
• Laine Thomas Conway, the vice president of delivery enablement and engagement at benefit services provider Alight; and,
• Robby White, the U.S. benefits business line leader at risk management and consulting firm Gallagher.

WD: What do you think benefits will look like in five years? And, what future benefits trends do you anticipate?

Thomas Conway: I don’t expect our core benefits to change dramatically. It’s not like artificial intelligence (AI) eliminates my need to get a knee replaced or for my kid to get braces. The core benefits are the core benefits.

Right now, there is an interest and openness to a new type of health plan [such as plans with up-front pricing and no deductibles]. Younger generations are more open to experimentation around plan types. It’s been well over a decade since we’ve seen something really new in the plan design space with high-deductible health plans, so we’re ripe for a new type of plan design. That can be hard because you have to teach people how to fish all over again, but it’ll be interesting to see what that next frontier is.

White: Benefits will likely be more personalized, data-driven and integrated into employees’ daily experiences. Rather than annual enrollment being the primary interaction point, employees will receive ongoing guidance throughout the year based on life events, changing needs and workforce trends.

Several trends appear poised to accelerate:

• AI-powered benefit recommendations and year-round decision support;
• Greater personalization based on life stage and household needs;
• Expansion of family-building and caregiving benefits;
• Increased focus on financial well-being and emergency savings;
• More integrated well-being ecosystems connecting physical, emotional and financial health;
• Greater use of analytics to measure outcomes and improve benefit effectiveness;
• Enhanced leave programs that address a broader range of family and caregiving situations; and,
• More consumer-oriented healthcare solutions designed to improve navigation and cost transparency.

WD: What are some of the benefits challenges employers may soon be seeing? And, how can they plan ahead to best navigate them?

Douglas: One of the biggest challenges will be balancing greater personalization with simplicity. Employers should start by listening to their workforce, identifying where employees lack confidence and understanding the moments when additional guidance would be most helpful. Employers also will need to maintain trust as technology plays a larger role in the benefits experience, particularly when it comes to transparency, privacy and data protection.

Thomas Conway: The percent of employees who regretted a healthcare decision they made in the past year is up to 67%. That number will continue to grow because I think asking AI [for healthcare advice] will become a regret. It’s dependent on you asking the right prompt and the tool not trying to please you. So, how do we harness AI in a way that people can ask it questions to gather information, but do it in a way where they’re not getting hallucinations or AI slop? We can’t put the genie back in the bottle, but we can provide a layer of trust.

White: The biggest challenge will likely be balancing growing employee expectations with affordability. Personalization and effective steerage can help strike that balance by directing employees to the right resources and care at the right time, improving how benefits are used while helping control costs and limit waste.

WD: How will benefits personalization continue to come into play?

Douglas: Personalization will increasingly be about relevance and navigation, not simply offering more choices. Employers can personalize the experience through targeted communications, decision-support tools, and guidance shaped around common household needs or life stages.

White: Research from Gallagher suggests that employees will continue to value both advanced technology and access to live support when making high-stakes benefit decisions. The organizations that succeed will combine digital personalization with human support, ensuring employees have guidance during important decisions and life transitions.

WD: What’s exciting or interesting about the direction benefits appears to be heading?

Douglas: What’s most exciting is the opportunity to make benefits more meaningful. Historically, success was often measured by what employers offered. Going forward, success will increasingly depend on whether employees can find, understand and use the support that matters most to them. That shift can help transform benefits from a static program into a more personalized experience that evolves alongside employees’ lives.

Thomas Conway: I’m excited about what’s possible with using AI to serve up options I wouldn’t have known were out there, as long as we’re doing it thoughtfully and carefully, and not neglecting the personal, human touch. At the end of the day, we want to help people, particularly in those moments that matter. We don’t want to turn that over to the robots.

White: Perhaps the most exciting development is that benefits are becoming more human-centered. Employers are recognizing that employees don’t experience healthcare, finances, caregiving and well-being as separate issues. They experience them as interconnected parts of everyday life. Benefits have the potential to be more relevant, accessible and impactful than ever before, creating stronger connections between employees and employers while supporting both workforce well-being and business performance.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Benefits
• Employee Experience
• Workforce Engagement