2026 Why benefit conversations are harder right now, and what’s actually changing

Jan 29, 2026 | News, Press Releases

January 2026 Trend Report

Why benefit conversations are harder right now, and what’s actually changing

Every January brings fresh forecasts and new priorities.
This January feels different.

What is showing up in employer conversations right now isn’t doubt about which programs matter, it is frustration about whether the programs are actually working.

Here are the pressure points shaping health and well being conversations at the start of 2026, and what they mean for brokers.

1. Cost pressure

Medical spend remains high, and employers know relief isn’t coming. Major firms like Aon and Mercer have been clear that costs are expected to remain elevated into 2026, keeping pressure firmly on employers.

Leadership teams are unwilling to lead with higher deductibles or broad cutbacks. Instead, the focus is on the intersection of spend and impact.

Employers still expect savings, but they need those savings tied to smarter decisions.

What’s underneath this:
The cost conversation is shifting from plan design to utilization and behavior.

2. Benefits access and navigation issues

One of the most consistent frustrations surfacing these days is that employees don’t know which benefits to use despite a plethora of benefits offerings.

Over the last few years, employers have added mental health resources, well being platforms, caregiving support, and condition specific programs. Yet employees still describe the experience as confusing and fragmented.

This is an access problem.

When employees don’t know where to start, strong programs sit underutilized. Mercer has highlighted that affordability and value increasingly depend on whether employees understand how to navigate what already exists.

Navigation issues result in wasted spend, frustrated managers, and leaders questioning whether investments are working at all.

What’s underneath this:
Access and navigation are as important as the benefits themselves.

3. Mental health is where the cracks appear

Mental health has become the clearest example of how access, utilization, and outcomes either work together or fall apart.

Demand for mental health resources is steady and well understood. Employees aren’t struggling because support doesn’t exist. They’re struggling because:

They don’t know which option fits their situation
They start in the wrong place and drop off
Managers try to help but lack context
HR sees the issue only after it escalates

Mercer and WTW have both noted that shifts like virtual and digital care have changed utilization patterns, making it even more important to understand how employees enter the system and where they disengage.

Mental health exposes the limits of fragmented systems faster than almost any other benefit category.

As Charlotte Dales, Co-founder of Inclusively, has said:

When someone is struggling, they don’t think in terms of programs or vendors. They think in terms of how they feel. If we force them to translate that into our internal structure, we’ve already lost them.

For employers, this is no longer just a care issue. It’s a productivity issue, a manager burden issue, and a measurement issue.

Now, employers ask:

Are people reaching the right level of support quickly?
Where are they getting stuck?
Do we have visibility before problems turn into leave, attrition, or claims?

What’s underneath this:
Mental health isn’t just about access anymore. It’s about routing, visibility, and early signal detection.

4. Plenty of data, very little clarity

Most employers are not short on data. They’re overwhelmed by it.

Claims, surveys, vendor reports, engagement dashboards, HR tickets, service requests…all telling different stories, at different times, in different formats.

Aon has pointed out that organizations increasingly struggle with inconsistent insight across fragmented systems.

What’s missing is a single, coherent view that answers:

What are employees actually asking for right now?
How does that demand map to what we already offer?
Where is investment misaligned with need?

Without that clarity, decision making slows down and decision confidence erodes.

What’s underneath this:
The next differentiator isn’t the existence of more data, it’s better interpretation of the data.

5. Well-being budgets are in the prove-it phase

Well-being remains a priority, but it’s entering a new chapter.

Employers are still investing, but expectations are rising. As industry research from groups like Mercer and Business Group on Health has reinforced, leaders want clearer answers about impact.

They’re asking:

Which programs are actually being used?
Which are underutilized?
Which influence outcomes like engagement, absence, and retention?

These questions change the tone of broker conversations.

What’s underneath this:
Well being is moving from philosophy to accountability.

What does this mean for brokers in 2026?

Brokers who stand out this year won’t be the ones who introduce the newest ideas or the longest vendor lists.

They’ll be the ones who can:

Make complex ecosystems easier to navigate
Turn fragmented signals into clear insight
Help clients see where access is breaking down
Connect utilization to cost, experience, and outcomes

In other words, brokers are being pulled upstream, from vendor selection to systems thinking.

The shift in focus for 2026

Many employers are circling the same realization, even if they don’t say it outright: they don’t need something new to adopt; they need intelligence built into what employees already use.

The approaches gaining traction tend to:

Organize benefits, policies, tools, and services into a consistent structure
Interpret employee intent in plain language, no matter where someone starts
Surface real time demand and utilization patterns
Turn insight into action, not just reporting

This is about making what already exists work better.

Benefits leaders already know what they offer. What they’re demanding now is help connecting the dots, across programs, platforms, and data, into insight they can actually use to make decisions.

Brokers who understand the intelligence systems behind the ecosystem, and know how to turn fragmented signals into clarity, will define what leadership looks like in this market.

Turn Insight Into Action

See how Inclusively’s Retain helps brokers and consultants connect fragmented data, surface where access breaks down, and turn employee signals into clear, actionable insight in 2026.

Book a fifteen minute walkthrough:
https://www.inclusively.com/request-demo/