Why life stage matters in benefits planning

How old an employee is tells employers relatively little about what they may need from their benefits. Life stage often provides a much clearer picture.

Many of the life events that drive leave utilization tend to occur earlier in employees' careers. Nearly 60% of leaves and short term disability claims come from employees with fewer than five years of tenure with an employer,⁴ and nearly one-third come from employees with less than two years on the job.⁴ Many of those absences are tied to pregnancy, parental bonding and an employee's own health condition. These trends reflect the realities many early-career employees face as they build families, establish financial security and navigate important health needs. For employers, they highlight why leave and income protection benefits can play a critical role in supporting employees through major life transitions.

Employees later in their careers tend to face a different set of challenges. Time away is more likely to be connected to caregiving responsibilities, recovery from injury or managing chronic health conditions.

And when taken into consideration holistically, a multigenerational workforce is about far more than age diversity. Employees may be navigating very different life moments at the same time, from starting a family and managing mental health to caring for loved ones and recovering from illness or injury.

Are you meeting employees where they are? Look beyond age groups and review where your employees are actually using leave, disability and support services. Those patterns can help reveal which life moments deserve more targeted education or easier access.

As workforce needs evolve, employees are looking for benefits that reflect what's happening in their lives right now. Personalization has shifted from a nice-to-have to an expectation. Even as costs continue to rise, employees are enrolling in more benefits,⁵ and access to customized options is one of the biggest reasons why. Research also shows that satisfaction increases when benefits align with an employee's individual needs and priorities.⁵

While many employers still tailor benefits and compensation strategies to generational trends, they're increasingly focused on offering greater flexibility, investing in mental wellbeing and leaning more heavily on technology to accommodate a wider range of employee needs.

Despite those shifts, some priorities remain consistent. Medical coverage, paid time off and retirement benefits continue to serve as the foundation of a strong benefits strategy across generations and life stages.⁶

Can employees find the support they need? Test whether employees can quickly connect their current needs to the right benefits. If the path is unclear, consider organizing communications around moments like becoming a parent, caring for family or managing a health event.

Employees ages 30 to 39 account for roughly one-third of all leaves, and about half come from employees under age 40.⁴ These are often the years when careers, families and personal responsibilities are all competing for attention.

Meanwhile, employees age 60 and older account for the lowest volume of leaves.⁴

The data suggests that leave needs are often driven less by age itself and more by the life transitions employees experience during these years.

For employees under 40, leave is often connected to:⁴

• Pregnancy and parental bonding
• Mental health challenges
• An employee's own health condition

Later in a career, leave is more likely to involve:⁴

• Caring for a family member
• Recovery from injury
• Musculoskeletal conditions
• Serious illnesses, including cancer

Some of the most important opportunities to support employees happen well after onboarding and long before retirement. Employers that anticipate these moments may be better positioned to improve workforce wellbeing, retention and productivity.

Is your benefits strategy keeping up? Map the life transitions most likely to create time away from work, then pressure-test whether managers, employees and HR teams know what support is available before a leave begins.

The data points to a simple reality: employees' needs evolve throughout their lives, and benefits strategies need to evolve with them.

For HR leaders, that may mean focusing less on generational labels and more on creating a benefits experience that can support employees through a range of life moments.

A few places to start:

• Strengthen the foundation with core benefits employees value across generations, including medical coverage, retirement benefits and paid leave
• Expand support around key life events through offerings that help employees navigate family-building, caregiving, health challenges and financial uncertainty
• Connect benefits and leave programs so employees can more easily understand and access support when they need it
• Make benefits easier to navigate with clear guidance, personalized recommendations and technology that simplifies decision-making and accessibility

As workforces become more diverse in age, tenure and life experience, keeping up means looking beyond broad demographic categories and designing benefits around the real moments when employees need support most. The most effective strategies will be the ones that make that support easier to find, understand and use at the right time.