Benefits flexibility in 2026: Building for people, performance, and purpose
Something has shifted in how employees think about their benefits, and the organizations paying attention are pulling ahead. It’s not just about health insurance anymore. It’s not even just about compensation. In 2026, the benefits package your organization offers is a direct signal of how you view your people, what you value, what you understand about their […]
2026 HIPAA changes – Why you shouldn’t wait to act
From the desk of Meredith Laroe, Director of Compliance, Clarity Benefit Solutions Every year, I sit down with benefits brokers and HR leaders who ask me the same question: “Are we covered?” And every year, the answer gets a little more nuanced. 2026 is no exception. The federal government has issued significant clarifications and updates to […]
AI in Employee Benefits: How Employers are using Artificial Intelligence to cut Costs and Boost Satisfaction
If you’ve been in HR long enough, you’ve seen a lot of technology promises that didn’t quite deliver. So it’s reasonable to approach “AI in benefits” with a degree of skepticism. But here’s what’s different in 2026: this isn’t theoretical anymore. Employers across the country are already using artificial intelligence in their benefits programs — […]
Employee Mental Health Benefits in 2026: Beyond EAPs — Building a Wellbeing Ecosystem
Here’s a number that should stop any HR leader in their tracks: 9 out of 10 employees report experiencing burnout. Not occasionally. Chronically. And yet, the most common response from employers is still a one-800-number EAP that most employees either don’t know about, don’t trust, or have already tried and found underwhelming. In 2026, that gap […]
Maximizing tax savings with a health reimbursement arrangement
There’s a benefits strategy sitting on the table that could save your organization $3,000-$5,000 per employee annually in tax costs. Yet most employers either don’t know about it or are dramatically underutilizing it. I’m talking about Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), one of the most powerful tax-advantaged health benefits tools available, and arguably the most misunderstood. Here’s […]
AI and Automation in Benefits for HR in 2026
The benefits industry has a problem: while AI is revolutionizing customer service, finance, and operations across every sector, benefits administration remains largely manual. HR teams are still processing claims by hand, answering repetitive questions during open enrollment, and making benefits decisions based on limited historical data. But that’s changing in 2026. And organizations that embrace […]
What Employees Can Buy with FSA and HSA in 2026: Major Changes Expand Access to Millions
Big news for 2026: 3 to 4 million more Americans are now eligible to open and contribute to Health Savings Accounts under new provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If you’ve been locked out of HSA benefits because of your health plan type, direct primary care arrangement, or telehealth usage, everything just changed. This isn’t just […]
HSA retirement strategy 2026: Maximizing tax benefits
A 35-year-old contributing the maximum to an HSA through retirement at age 65 could accumulate over $450,000 in tax-free healthcare funds, while a similar investment in a traditional retirement account would be worth roughly $315,000 after taxes. That $135,000 difference represents the extraordinary power of the triple tax advantage HSA, yet fewer than 9% of […]
HRA vs HSA vs FSA in 2026: ROI breakdown
Employers who choose the wrong account-based health plan leave an average of $1,847 per employee on the table annually, money lost to inefficient tax strategies, poor employee utilization, and misaligned plan design. With healthcare costs projected to rise 6.5% in 2026 and benefits representing nearly 30% of total compensation packages, this isn’t just a benefits […]
Best Employee Benefits for Hybrid Workforce 2026
The hybrid work revolution has fundamentally altered the employer-employee relationship. What satisfied workers in 2019 no longer meets expectations in 2026. Traditional benefits packages designed for fully office-based teams now miss the mark for distributed workforces that split time between home offices, corporate headquarters, and everywhere in between. Currently, 28.2% of full-time employees work a hybrid […]