3 Big Trends That Will Shape Every Employer’s Benefits Strategy in 2026
Heading into 2026, both employers and employees are feeling the effects of a tougher economic environment, from rising costs and financial uncertainty to growing strain on time, health, and caregiving responsibilities.
Those pressures are reshaping expectations for employee benefits. With healthcare costs climbing and a five-generation workforce to support, employers are being asked to deliver more personalized, high-impact benefits to enhance talent acquisition, retention and overall organizational resilience.
For brokers and HR teams, this moment presents a clear opportunity: to help organizations invest in benefits that meet employees where they are, especially during life’s most challenging moments.
Below is a look at the trends that defined 2025 and will shape benefits strategies in the year ahead.
Trend 1: Financial Wellbeing Moves From Nice-to-Have to Core Strategy
Economic uncertainty defined 2025.
77% of employees say they’re stressed about the current climate. Employers feel it too: productivity dips, distraction rises, and retention costs climb.
Employers who invested in financial wellbeing this year reported significant improvements :
Higher job satisfaction
Stronger retention
Improved productivity
Better candidate quality
Enhanced employer reputation
But here’s the key shift: Employees are asking for benefits that protect their families, not just their paychecks. For example, HR.com found that 72% of employees would use an estate-planning benefit if offered.
What this means for brokers
Your clients are no longer evaluating financial wellbeing based on “usage” — they’re looking for measurable impact. Solutions tied to long-term financial security, family protection, and reduced administrative friction will outperform generic education apps or financial literacy content.
Positioning to clients:
Highlight offerings that improve readiness for major life events — not just everyday budgeting.
Show how integrating financial + emotional + logistical support reduces turnover and productivity loss.
Trend 2: Mental and Women’s Health Remain Top Priorities — With More Precision
Post-pandemic mental health investments haven’t slowed. 87% of employers say mental health is a top priority for the next 2–3 years (Lockton).
And increasingly, employers are broadening that lens. Women’s health is emerging as a standalone strategic category, building on the same pressures around burnout, emotional strain, and workforce wellbeing.
Mercer’s 2026 outlook found that over one in four employers now offer — or plan to offer — support for pregnancy loss. More employers are recognizing that fertility, reproductive health, and emotionally heavy experiences affect presenteeism, long-term wellbeing, and trust in the workplace.
What this means for brokers
The “point solution fatigue” era is very real. Employers want to simplify without losing depth of support. This means:
Mental health solutions must be contextual, not generic.
Women’s health can’t live inside a one-size-fits-all family-planning program.
Positioning to clients:
Prioritize vendors with multi-modal support (human + tech) that adapt across life stages.
Highlight the cost of untreated mental health and unaddressed women's health experiences.
Showcase programs that reduce stigma and normalize care around pregnancy loss, fertility challenges, and hormonal health.
Trend 3: Caregiving and Bereavement Become Business-Critical Issues
2025 cemented caregiving as one of the biggest workforce disruptors:
1 in 4 Americans is an unpaid caregiver
61% are balancing caregiving with full-time work
And for many workers — especially those in the Sandwich Generation — caregiving is only one part of a larger cycle of family responsibility. The same people who manage day-to-day care for aging parents and/or dependent children are often the ones who shoulder the logistical and emotional load when a family member passes away (and are most likely your star employees too!).
Empathy’s 2025 Grief Tax report found that these employees experience the most significant workplace impacts after a loss, including:
93.7% trouble concentrating
90.6% reduced productivity
84.4% absenteeism
82% felt their work reputation suffered
Employers have begun responding. By 2026, 35% of companies with 500+ employees and 38% of companies with 5,000+ employees will offer grief counseling or coaching.
And while this is an important step in the right direction, counseling alone doesn’t solve the full magnitude of the problem. Employees need holistic support across the entire journey — caregiving, loss, and the months of logistics that follow.
What this means for brokers
Your clients are now connecting caregiving and bereavement to productivity, retention, and culture. The most competitive organizations are looking for:
Integrated support across caregiving → loss → recovery
Solutions that help managers better support employees during these life-changing moments will effectively navigate business needs to reduce presenteeism and turnover.
Positioning to clients:
Show that disconnected EAP offerings can’t meet the complexity of modern caregiving.
Guide them toward solutions that address both the emotional and logistical weight employees carry.
Conclusion: 2026 Will Reward Employers That Prioritize Reducing Complexity for Employees and Supporting Them Through Key-Life Moments and
Employers are moving away from “more benefits” and toward more meaningful benefits — those that actually help employees navigate stressful, complicated life events.
Brokers who can bring forward solutions that reduce complexity, integrate with existing programs, and support employees in their full lived experience will win the trust of HR leaders in 2026.
How Empathy Supports Employer Benefits Strategies in 2026
As wellbeing pillars converge — mental, emotional, financial, social — Empathy helps employers support their people through life’s most challenging moments.
Through our bereavement care solution, Loss Support, and legacy-planning tool, LifeVault, Empathy provides:
Human guidance + trusted technology
Practical help during and after loss
Tools that families build financial resilience and protect their legacy
A benefits experience that strengthens culture and retention
As one partner shared:
“ We've done a lot to allow our employees the space to do the things that they need to do, what Empathy does is it really rounds that out. And I think that's one of the cool things about Empathy, it touches all four pillars of wellbeing- financial wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing and social wellbeing.“ — Matthew Phillips, AVP Benefits, AT&T
To learn more, speak to an Empathy representative