A new study from Conduent Incorporated analyzes how plan sponsors are meeting growing expectations from employees who want personalized benefits.
The 2026 Blueprint for Smarter Health Survey found that 65% of employers measure benefits success through improved attraction and retention, showing that benefits do play a role in recruitment strategies.
To further success, 71% of organizations plan to implement artificial intelligence (AI) technology to support employee understanding of benefits, while 64% say they are offering virtual assistants to help with navigation.
This push for additional benefits comes from workers, many whom expect their employers to offer holistic tools past financial wellness. According to the findings, 65% of employees say they prioritize mental health and wellness programs.
A 2025 report from Payroll Integrations also touched on employees’ needs for healthcare. When asked which benefits would better support them beyond what’s currently offered, employees named financial and wellness compensation (33%), additional pay (32%) and mental health support (31%) as their top priorities after healthcare (36%) and retirement (33%).
While plan sponsors see benefits as a strategic asset that could drive business growth and improve employee wellbeing, many struggle to afford the features, Conduent finds. Research from the Business Group on Health found that compounding year-over-year medical trend rates could result in a 62% rise in healthcare costs today compared to 10 years ago.
As an example, an employer with 10,000 employees could spend an additional $5 million in annual spending on these benefits, notes Conduent.
“Healthcare costs will continue to rise, and organizations must balance cost containment with the need to provide comprehensive health and wellness benefits,” said Kimberly Marshall, chief commercial officer of Commercial Solutions at Conduent.
To disrupt added spending, Conduent says employers can utilize AI as a “strategic engine” that “guides benefits decisions, streamlines operations, and increases transparency around medical costs.”
“Clients are demanding advanced technology solutions that harness the power of AI to both empower employees to better utilize their benefits and help HR teams to manage benefit program operations more efficiently and cost-effectively,” added Marshall.