Benefit costs continue to rise
Employer-sponsored benefits—especially health coverage—remain a major and growing expense for many organizations. Survey-based estimates put average employer health benefit costs at about $17,496 per employee in 2025 (roughly 6% year over year), with projections exceeding $18,500 per employee in 2026 (about 6.7%)1. What’s driving this growth? There are a number of factors, including higher pharmaceutical spending, increased use of GLP‑1 medications, continued price inflation in healthcare delivery and growing utilization of services.2