2026 NFP U.S. Benefits Trend Report
With cost pressures intensifying and the pace of change showing no signs of slowing, employers need clear insight into their employee benefits strategy. This year’s benefits trend report reveals how employers are recalibrating strategy across key cost drivers and the workforce priorities shaping today’s organizations.
2026 NFP U.S. Benefits Trend Report
With cost pressures intensifying and the pace of change showing no signs of slowing, employers need clear insight into their employee benefits strategy. This year’s benefits trend report reveals how employers are recalibrating strategy across key cost drivers and the workforce priorities shaping today’s organizations.
Employee Benefits Trends Redefining Employer Strategy in 2026
The business of employer-sponsored benefits is shifting in ways that feel familiar yet are fundamentally new. With employers navigating the rapid expansion of GLP-1 medications, financial strain among employees and an accelerating AI environment that has outpaced governance, the 2026 report couldn’t be timelier. It highlights where employers have the most opportunity to build a more connected, resilient benefits strategy.
Explore the 2026 employee benefits trends below, where you’ll dive into the five key domains featured in this year’s employee benefits trend report.
Pharmacy
GLP-1 medications are reshaping pharmacy strategy.
Pharmacy benefits may be the most complex and fastest changing components of employer-sponsored healthcare. As pressure builds around coverage design and long-term affordability, pharmacy strategy has become a critical test of employer decision-making.
GLP-1 medications are increasingly cited as a major concern for employers alongside oncology and autoimmune categories. With nearly one-third of employees saying they would consider switching jobs to access coverage, today’s pharmacy design is a talent issue as much as a clinical one.
Cost Containment
Rising costs require precise strategies.
Nearly half of employers expect medical benefit budgets to increase next year. As utilization and medical insurance plan design grow more complex, cost containment has become a central focus of benefits strategy. Employers report reexamining how medical benefit plan structures and cost controls support sustainable coverage over time. While cutting benefits is not an option in today’s labor market, data-driven plan design, navigation tools and targeted utilization management are becoming essential.
Supplemental Benefits
A powerful, yet underused and misunderstood tool.
Less than one-third of employees fully use their supplemental benefits, and 13% forget they have them at all. A widening communication gap shows why employees struggle and why employers overestimate their clarity. Supplemental benefits remain the strategic play for employees looking for flexibility and targeted support beyond core medical coverage, so updating the strategic playbook is a must.
Vitality and Wellbeing
Wellbeing is now organizational infrastructure.
Despite offering more programs, fewer than half of employers have a policy to address burnout. Financial stress remains the biggest gap, with two in five employees holding less than $500 in savings. The “Land and Expand” framework shows how organizations can build wellbeing that lasts. Building sustainable wellbeing strategies now requires clearer alignment between day-to-day support and long-term workforce resilience.
Human Resources
HR is shifting from administration to anticipation.
Only 28% of employers have an AI governance policy, even as AI becomes embedded in hiring, development and performance analytics. HR is evolving into the connective tissue linking people, data and purpose, redefining how organizations prepare for the future of work.
2026 U.S. Benefits Trends Webinars
Hear NFP leaders walk through key employee benefits trends, explore the data behind the report and discuss the strategies employers are prioritizing in the year ahead.
Rx and Medical
January 22 at 2:00 p.m. ET
HR and Talent
January 29 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Vitality and Wellbeing
February 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Why NFP?
NFP helps employers translate complexity into strategy. By aligning pharmacy, wellbeing, supplemental benefits, cost containment, HR and workforce planning into a unified and connected human capital strategy, employers can anticipate disruption, reduce complexity and build benefits programs that are both sustainable and employee-centered.
Our advisors, clinicians, analysts and consultants work side-by-side with organizations to anticipate disruption, enhance competitiveness and support their people in moments that matter.
