2026 Annual SHRM Employee Benefits Survey Results
"Retirement plans aren't differentiators, they're expectations."
What it was about
Employer benefits are being reshaped by cost pressure (especially GLP-1 drugs and healthcare premiums) and a proactive-vs-reactive recalibration across nearly every category, but the biggest lever HR leaders have right now isn't adding or cutting benefits — it's communicating the benefits they already offer.
By the numbers
Key notes
- Prioritize communicating existing benefits to employees before adding or cutting anything, since employees consistently value benefits they don't know they have.
- Evaluate separating pharmacy benefits from medical insurance (via a pharmacy benefit manager) to gain more transparency and cost control as GLP-1 spending grows.
- Audit mental health offerings for duplication (EAP plus counseling plus medical-plan coverage) and utilization before assuming a coverage decline signals reduced employee need.
Take this back Monday
Send one email or Slack post spelling out benefits employees already have (mental health, retirement match, leave donation) before touching the budget.
Our best lever right now isn't adding or cutting benefits, it's communicating what we already offer, since most employees underuse benefits they don't know exist.
Watch out for
- Assuming employees are aware of the benefits they already have instead of actively communicating them.
- Stacking multiple overlapping mental health point solutions (EAP, counseling add-ons, medical plan coverage) without checking for duplication or usage.
- Passing healthcare cost increases straight through to employees year after year as if that's a sustainable long-term strategy.
Kathryn Mayer co-wrote a nonfiction book on Walt Disney's failed ski resort dream: "Disneyland on the Mountain."
