AI and the Workforce: How Employee Benefits Can Help in 2026

For the past two years, HR leaders have been focused on getting AI tools into the hands of their workforce. The more consequential challenge heading into 2026 is what to do about the anxiety those tools have created about the future of work itself.

What Does AI Mean for Employee Well-Being and the Benefits Program?

AI is changing the nature of work faster than many employees feel equipped to navigate, and that uncertainty is showing up in the data employers use to evaluate workforce health. Employees are not primarily anxious about a specific job disappearing. They are anxious about relevance, about skills becoming obsolete faster than they can be replaced, and about long-term financial security in a labor market where the rules about what skills matter are shifting.

Those anxieties have direct connections to the benefits an employer provides. An employee who worries about income disruption values disability insurance differently than one who feels economically secure. An employee who is anxious about the future engages with financial wellness resources differently than one who feels stable. An employee processing change and uncertainty in their workplace needs mental health support that functions well and is easy to access.

According to MetLife’s 2026 EBTS, the workforce is both optimistic about AI’s efficiency potential and concerned about what technological change means for well-being and long-term security. SHRM’s 2026 recap of its annual conference noted that the real AI challenge is not adoption — it is redesigning work in ways that maintain human skill development, engagement, and meaning.

Which Benefits Directly Address AI-Related Workforce Anxiety?

Income protection and disability insurance provide financial security against the scenario most employees fear: a period in which they cannot work. Short-term and long-term disability coverage addresses the financial gap that would occur if an employee’s income were interrupted. As AI-driven workforce changes create uncertainty about role stability, income protection benefits take on added meaning as a signal that the employer is invested in the employee’s financial security.

Mental health and EAP access matters in this context for a reason distinct from clinical treatment. Workplace anxiety about technological change, fear of skill obsolescence, and uncertainty about job security are psychological stressors that benefit from professional support. An employee assistance program that is actively promoted, easy to access, and well-utilized is a meaningful resource for a workforce processing significant change.

Financial wellness programs address the underlying economic stress that AI-related uncertainty amplifies. According to MetLife’s 2026 EBTS, 83 percent of employees say rising living expenses and economic uncertainty are their top stressors. Financial wellness resources — including budgeting tools, emergency savings programs, and access to financial coaching — help employees build the financial resilience that makes workforce change less destabilizing.

Learning and development benefits are among the most direct responses to skill obsolescence anxiety. Employers who offer tuition assistance, access to credentialing programs, or structured learning pathways communicate concretely to employees that the organization views their development as an investment. When AI is displacing certain skills, demonstrating that the organization will support employees in building new ones is one of the most effective retention and engagement signals available.

What Should HR Leaders Communicate to Employees About AI and Their Future?

The employees who are most anxious about AI are the ones who have received the least clear communication about how their organization is thinking about AI’s role in the business and what it means for them specifically.

Benefits can be part of that communication strategy. An open enrollment communication that connects benefits to the specific uncertainties employees are navigating — here is how our disability coverage protects you if your role changes, here is how our financial wellness program helps you build a buffer, here is how our EAP supports you through transitions — is more effective than one that lists coverage options in isolation.

Human capital management strategy increasingly treats benefits communication as an employee experience tool. Employee benefits strategy advisors can help employers identify which benefits are most relevant to the specific workforce concerns their employees are expressing and how to position them in enrollment communications for the 2026 plan year. Wellness and population health programs designed to support employees through change and uncertainty are a complementary investment alongside core benefits enhancements.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI, the Workforce, and Employee Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions
Why are employees anxious about AI in the workplace?	Employees are primarily anxious about the longer-term implications of AI for their skills, roles, and economic security. MetLife’s 2026 EBTS describes a workforce that is simultaneously optimistic about AI’s efficiency benefits and concerned about how technological change affects long-term career and financial security.
Which employee benefits are most relevant to AI-related workforce anxiety?	Income protection through short-term and long-term disability insurance, mental health and EAP access, financial wellness programs, and learning and development benefits are the categories most directly aligned with the specific concerns employees are expressing about AI and the future of work.
Should HR leaders communicate about AI in open enrollment materials?	Yes. Open enrollment communication that connects specific benefits to the real-world concerns employees are navigating is more effective than generic benefit descriptions. Benefits that address income protection, financial resilience, and mental health support are directly relevant to the AI-related uncertainty employees feel.
How can employers use benefits to retain employees who are anxious about AI-driven change?	Employers who demonstrate through their benefits program that they are invested in employees’ financial security, mental well-being, and skill development consistently outperform peers on retention. Employees who feel protected against the downside risks of change are more likely to stay and more likely to engage productively.
Is AI-related workforce anxiety a reason to change the benefits program?	It may not require changing the program, but it is a strong reason to change how the program is communicated. Many employers already offer the benefits most relevant to AI-related anxiety. The gap is in helping employees understand how those benefits connect to the specific concerns they are experiencing right now.

Ready to review how your benefits program addresses what your workforce is navigating in 2026? The team at Tooher-Ferraris has been helping employers build benefits strategies that reflect the real needs of their workforce since 1932. Contact us today or request a group employee benefits consultation to schedule a review.

Employee Benefits

August 16, 2026

Healthcare Costs Are Rising 8 Percent in 2026. Voluntary Benefits Are How Smart Employers Are Filling the Gap.

What Are Voluntary Benefits?

Voluntary benefits are employer-sponsored insurance products and services that employees can elect and pay for individually, either fully or through cost-sharing arrangements. Because employees fund most or all of the cost, voluntary benefits allow employers to expand the breadth of their benefits offering without proportionally increasing their own benefits spend.

Common voluntary benefit categories include critical illness insurance, which provides a lump-sum cash payment upon diagnosis of a covered condition such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke. Accident insurance pays benefits based on specific injuries or events, covering out-of-pocket costs that medical insurance does not fully address. Hospital indemnity insurance provides a daily cash benefit during a hospital stay. Legal plans, pet insurance, identity theft protection, student loan assistance, and financial wellness programs round out the non-medical voluntary benefits category that has grown significantly in employer adoption over the past several years.

Why Are Voluntary Benefits More Important in 2026?

Healthcare costs are the primary driver of voluntary benefits growth in 2026. LIMRA’s 2026 workplace benefits analysis projects that employer healthcare costs will rise approximately 8 percent this year without plan design changes. As employers manage that cost pressure, they face a parallel challenge: maintaining a competitive benefits offering in a market where employees increasingly evaluate total compensation based on benefits quality.

According to MetLife’s 2026 EBTS, 62 percent of workers believe non-medical benefits are essential to accessing preventive care. The same study found that employees who use 10 or more non-medical benefits are 69 percent more likely to feel holistically healthy. The connection between voluntary benefits access and overall workforce health and engagement is one of the most consistent findings in recent workplace benefits research.

Which Voluntary Benefits Should Employers Consider in 2026?

Critical illness and accident insurance are among the highest-value additions for workforces where employees carry HDHP coverage with significant out-of-pocket exposure. These products provide cash benefits at the moment of a significant health event, addressing exactly the financial gap that a high deductible creates.

Hospital indemnity coverage addresses the daily out-of-pocket costs that accompany hospitalization, which most health plans cover only partially and which can generate significant employee financial stress even when a claim is ultimately paid.

Legal plans address employee financial stress around legal fees, will preparation, and contract review. Financial wellness programs address the financial stress that MetLife’s 2026 research identifies as the top stressor for 83 percent of employees.

A wellness and population health strategy that integrates voluntary benefits with the primary medical plan is more effective than one that treats them as unrelated additions. Employee benefits strategy advisors can help employers build a voluntary benefits portfolio that complements the existing program structure and aligns with the workforce’s actual needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Voluntary Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between voluntary benefits and core benefits?	Core benefits are employer-sponsored and employer-funded. Voluntary benefits are employer-sponsored but primarily or entirely employee-funded, giving employees access to additional coverage at group rates through payroll deduction without significant employer cost.
Who pays for voluntary benefits?	Most voluntary benefits are 100 percent employee-paid, or cost-shared with the employer contributing a portion. The group purchasing arrangement through the employer allows employees to access coverage at rates lower than they could obtain individually.
Are voluntary benefits worth adding if employees are already cost-stressed?	Yes, with the right benefit design and communication. Critical illness and accident products that pay cash at the moment of a significant health event are specifically designed to help employees manage the financial impact of health crises that primary insurance does not fully cover.
How do employers decide which voluntary benefits to offer?	The most effective approach combines employee survey data on benefits preferences, demographic analysis of the workforce, and a review of where current benefits have coverage gaps. A benefits advisor can help structure this analysis as part of the open enrollment planning process.
Do voluntary benefits affect the employer’s health plan costs?	Employers who offer robust voluntary benefits portfolios report lower average health plan costs. MetLife’s 2026 study found that 83% of employers reported lower medical costs as a result of offering non-medical benefits, attributed to the combined effect of higher preventive care engagement and better employee capacity to manage out-of-pocket costs.

Ready to review your voluntary benefits program before open enrollment? The team at Tooher-Ferraris has been helping employers build complete, effective benefits programs since 1932. Contact us today or request a group employee benefits consultation to get started.

Employee Benefits

August 8, 2026

Open Enrollment Is Closer Than You Think. Here Is How HR Leaders Should Be Using August.

For employers running a calendar plan year, August is not early. It is exactly on time.

Why Is August the Right Time to Start Open Enrollment Preparation?

August is the right time because meaningful open enrollment preparation requires more than updating a benefits guide and scheduling a presentation. It requires a complete review of plan design decisions already made, the compliance and communication materials those decisions require, and the multi-touch employee education strategy that turns enrollment from a checkbox exercise into a meaningful decision.

The planning that happens in August determines what employees experience in October and what the employer’s cost and utilization data looks like next April. The employers who consistently achieve higher voluntary enrollment rates, stronger benefits literacy scores, and lower mid-year surprises are the ones who start this work now rather than in September.

Tooher-Ferraris hosts regular educational events to support HR leaders during this period. The upcoming webinar on Hot Topics in Employer Stop Loss on August 19, 2026 covers cost management topics directly relevant to fall renewal planning.

What Should HR Leaders Be Doing in August?

August open enrollment preparation should focus on four areas.

Plan design finalization. If the organization is making any changes to plan tiers, deductibles, networks, or contribution splits, those decisions should be finalized in August so that materials can be built on accurate, confirmed information. Late plan design changes create cascading problems in communications, compliance documentation, and benefits administration system configuration.

Compliance materials review. Summary of Benefits and Coverage documents, Summary Plan Descriptions, and required notices including Medicare Part D and COBRA notices need to be reviewed and updated annually. The 2026 HSA contribution limits of $4,400 individual and $8,750 family represent specific numbers that may need to be updated in existing materials.

Communication planning. According to SHRM’s 2026 research, the most effective benefits communication touches employees at least five times before enrollment closes, across multiple formats and channels. A communication plan built in August can include emails, manager briefings, self-service tools, and a dedicated enrollment support period.

Benefits education content. The gap between what employees have access to and what they actually use is primarily an education gap. According to MetLife’s 2026 EBTS, 62 percent of workers believe non-medical benefits are essential to accessing preventive care, yet enrollment in voluntary and supplemental benefits consistently underperforms relative to employee expressed interest.

A structured employee benefits strategy review in August gives employers time to address plan design questions, confirm compliance, and build the communication infrastructure before enrollment opens. For employers who want to review their total program before making enrollment decisions, a group employee benefits consultation is a practical first step.

For employers who have already published a benefits benchmarking review, our Insight on how to use benchmarking data at renewal negotiations is a relevant companion resource.

How Do You Get Employees to Actually Use Their Benefits?

Utilization is an education and communication problem, not a plan design problem. Human capital management strategy in 2026 increasingly treats benefits utilization as a business metric alongside engagement and retention. HR leaders who position their open enrollment communication plan as a utilization improvement initiative produce measurable results from the same benefit offerings that underperform in less intentional programs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Open Enrollment Preparation

Frequently Asked Questions
When should employers start preparing for open enrollment?	For January 1 effective dates, August is the right time to begin. Plan design finalization, compliance materials review, communication planning, and benefits education content development all require more lead time than most employers allocate. Starting in September limits what is achievable before enrollment opens in October.
What are the most important compliance tasks to complete before open enrollment?	Confirming that Summary of Benefits and Coverage documents are current, reviewing required notices including Medicare Part D and COBRA, updating materials to reflect 2026 IRS limits for HSAs and HDHPs, and confirming that any plan design changes are accurately reflected in Summary Plan Descriptions are among the highest-priority tasks.
How many times should employers communicate benefits before enrollment closes?	SHRM research suggests effective benefits communication reaches employees at least five times across multiple channels before enrollment closes. A single all-hands meeting or email announcement does not meet the standard that drives meaningful enrollment decisions.
What is the most common reason employees make poor benefits decisions during open enrollment?	Insufficient education about how each benefit works and what it covers is the most consistent driver of poor enrollment decisions. Employees who do not understand the difference between a deductible and an out-of-pocket maximum are making decisions based on incomplete information.
How can technology improve the open enrollment experience?	Benefits administration technology and decision-support tools that allow employees to model their choices based on their own health utilization data consistently improve enrollment outcomes. HR technology consulting can help employers identify whether their current systems support the enrollment experience they want to deliver.

Ready to build your August open enrollment preparation strategy? The team at Tooher-Ferraris has been helping employers run effective benefits programs since 1932. Contact us today or request a group employee benefits consultation to get started.

Employee Benefits

August 7, 2026

The 2026 HSA Limits Are Set. Most Employees Will Still Leave Money on the Table.

What Are the 2026 HSA Contribution Limits?

The 2026 HSA contribution limits, confirmed by the IRS, are $4,400 for individuals enrolled in self-only high-deductible health plan coverage and $8,750 for individuals enrolled in family HDHP coverage. These limits represent combined totals from all sources — both employee payroll contributions and employer contributions count toward the annual cap. Individuals aged 55 and older can contribute an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution on top of the applicable base limit.

To be HSA-eligible in 2026, a health plan must have a minimum deductible of at least $1,700 for self-only coverage and $3,400 for family coverage, and maximum out-of-pocket limits that do not exceed $8,500 for individual coverage and $17,000 for family coverage.

The limits increased from 2025, following the IRS’s annual inflation adjustment process. The 2.3 percent increase for self-only coverage and 2.4 percent increase for family coverage reflect ongoing healthcare cost inflation, though both increases are smaller than the larger adjustments made in the years immediately following the pandemic.

Why Do Most Employees Leave HSA Money on the Table?

The HSA underutilization problem is a communication and education problem, not a plan design problem. Most employees enrolled in HDHP coverage have access to an HSA, and most do not contribute anywhere near the IRS maximum.

Many employees do not fully understand the triple tax advantage that makes HSAs uniquely valuable. Contributions made through payroll reduce taxable income dollar for dollar. The balance grows tax-free. Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are never taxed. No other account available to employees combines all three tax benefits, and no other account has an unlimited carryforward — HSA balances roll over year after year with no use-it-or-lose-it restriction.

Many employees also do not know that an HSA can function as a long-term savings vehicle for healthcare expenses in retirement. After age 65, withdrawals for any purpose are taxed as ordinary income rather than penalized, making the HSA function similarly to a traditional IRA for non-medical spending. Employers who communicate the HSA as a long-term savings tool consistently see higher enrollment and higher contribution rates.

What Should Employers Do Before Open Enrollment Opens?

Employers with HSA-paired HDHP offerings have specific tasks to complete before enrollment opens in fall 2026.

Update all enrollment materials and employee-facing documents to reflect the 2026 contribution limits. Summary Plan Descriptions, benefits guides, benefits administration system configurations, and payroll deduction maximums all need to reflect the new amounts.

Confirm that all offered HDHPs qualify for HSA eligibility in 2026 by verifying that deductibles meet the minimum thresholds and out-of-pocket limits do not exceed the maximums. An HR compliance review should include HSA eligibility verification before any HDHP is offered in connection with HSA enrollment.

Develop employee education content that explains the triple tax advantage in plain language, provides contribution modeling examples at different income levels, and explains the long-term accumulation potential.

An employee benefits strategy review confirms all HSA-related program elements are aligned before enrollment opens. HR technology consulting can ensure that benefits administration systems accurately reflect updated limits and support employee decision-making during enrollment.

Frequently Asked Questions About 2026 HSA Contribution Limits

Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 2026 HSA contribution limits?	The 2026 HSA contribution limits are $4,400 for individuals with self-only HDHP coverage and $8,750 for individuals with family HDHP coverage. Individuals aged 55 or older may contribute an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution. These limits represent the combined total from all sources including employer contributions.
What is the minimum deductible for an HDHP to qualify for HSA contributions in 2026?	To qualify as an HSA-eligible HDHP in 2026, a health plan must have a minimum deductible of at least $1,700 for self-only coverage and $3,400 for family coverage. The maximum out-of-pocket limit cannot exceed $8,500 for self-only or $17,000 for family coverage.
Can an employee change their HSA contribution amount during the year?	Yes. Employees may adjust their HSA contribution elections at any time during the plan year. Employers may set reasonable administrative guidelines, such as limiting changes to once per month, but cannot restrict employees to open enrollment only for HSA contribution changes.
What happens to unused HSA funds at the end of the year?	Unlike flexible spending accounts, HSA funds roll over indefinitely with no use-it-or-lose-it restriction. Unused funds remain in the account, grow tax-free, and are available for qualified medical expenses in future years.
Do employer contributions to an employee’s HSA count toward the annual limit?	Yes. The IRS annual limits apply to total contributions from all sources, including both employee payroll contributions and employer contributions. If an employer contributes $1,000 to an employee’s HSA for self-only coverage, the employee may contribute up to $3,400 of the $4,400 total.

Ready to confirm your HSA program is compliant and communication-ready before open enrollment? The team at Tooher-Ferraris has been helping employers manage benefits compliance since 1932. Contact us today or request a group employee benefits consultation to schedule a review.

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Your Employees Are Worried About AI and Their Jobs. Your Benefits Program Is Part of the Answer.