As employers offer basic benefits to singles or couples of same sex who wish to have children, they are removing old requirements such as a diagnosis for infertility in a heterosexual pair before covering in vitro fertilation.
Numerous major companies have begun to offer family planning benefits in response to a shortage of qualified workers and the fact that many are leaving the workforce during the “Great Resignation”.
Betsey Campbell, spokesperson for Resolve National Infertility Association, stated that “We are definitely seeing a private sector lead in terms of adding fertility to family-building benefits.” They are realizing this is important for their employees and it helps them in terms of recruitment, retention, diversity, equity, inclusion, and other goals. This is a way for the company to be family-friendly. It is impossible to be more family-friendly than helping employees create families.
AT&T, the telecom giant, and financial services firm Ally, as well as computing and software company IBM and insurer Liberty Mutual, are some of the large employers that ease the financial burdens of creating a family for workers. They also encourage loyalty and earn HR points on behalf of the corporate inclusion front.
“The financial part of it”
Employees are now evaluating fertility benefits offered by employers and weighing these options with other job attributes such as compensation and flexibility when deciding where to work.
Employers realize that workers are seeking out employers who can help them. They recognize that family dynamics are changing and that sometimes people looking to expand their families may not be able to do so in traditional ways,” stated Yvette Lee, an advisor with the Society for Human Resource Management.
Take Jessica Swain (director of communications at AT&T), a single woman who has plans to have children. She used AT&T’s egg freezing benefit to “have an extra safety net without worrying about a clock.”
According to FertilityIQ (a provider of fertility education and resources for individuals as well as companies), the average national cost of an egg-freezing cycle without insurance is nearly $16,000. This includes medication, treatment, retrieval, and egg-storage costs.
According to Resolve, the out-of-pocket expenses for one IVF cycle are between $15,000-$30,000 without insurance.
Swain was able to make a leap towards becoming a mother by not having to worry about the finances. This was thanks to her employer.
This is also why she has been with the company for seven consecutive years.
“Our fertility benefits include adoption assistance, egg freezing, and other services. Swain stated that it is important to have equity in this field, regardless of whether you are single or LGBTQ. This will ensure that you don’t limit people based upon their lives circumstances. This benefit is very important for single people like me because it is a significant cost. It would certainly impact my decision about whether to work for a company. This is why I have remained with AT&T.
From banking to ride-sharing
Many large global corporations, including those in banking, tech, and health care, now cover some form of fertility service. Research shows that a decade ago, the only exception was a company that covered specific infertility treatments for workers.
Nearly 800 global companies identified by FertlityIQ in 2021 offered some form of fertility benefit. This includes companies that have added fertility benefits for the first or increased their coverage. It also reflects an 8 percent increase in employers who cover fertility services.
Jason Anderson-Bialis, FertilityIQ cofounder, said that the market has “completely taken off” in the past two years. “Employers pay for our education offerings about fertility. Demand is nonstop right now. It is definitely a priority.
Resolve commissioned Mercer to conduct a survey in 2021 on fertility benefits. It found that only half of 459 employers surveyed claimed they provide at least some form of reproductive benefit. 205 respondents stated they do not.
The survey revealed that larger employers with at least 500 employees were more likely than smaller employers to cover fertility services, including egg freezing and in vitro fertilation.
Workers who want to start families are encouraged to work harder
Lyft, a ride-share company, is one of the employers that recognizes the importance in helping workers start and build families. This is especially true if a couple’s path to parenthood is not traditional. It is hard to ignore the fact that millennials, most of whom are in their prime years of child-bearing, are the largest age group in the U.S. workforce.
Now, the company offers IVF, egg freezing and surrogacy coverage. Lyft added a fertility component in 2017 to its benefits package. However, at that time, an infertility diagnosis was required after 12 unsuccessful months trying to conceive.
“Now, you don’t have to have an underlying diagnosis of infertility. Lyft’s benefits manager Tanner Brunsdale stated that our benefit is inclusive and can be used by LGBTQ+ couples as well as single parents who are expanding their family through surrogacy or adoption.
Brunsdale stated that Lyft’s family-building benefit is unique because it covers a wide range of benefits. He said, “In the tech industry, [when] trying [to attract and retain talent], we know that we are in a competitive marketplace and we know that this benefit is at top of the list when people look for employers.” It’s highly desired and gives us a competitive edge. It is a common topic of interest to candidates.”
