Benchmarking Your Benefits: How to Know If Your Plan Is Actually Competitive

Employers often assume their benefits are competitive because employees are not complaining, or worry they are overpaying because renewals keep climbing. Both are guesses. Benchmarking replaces the guessing with data, comparing your plan design, cost, and contributions against relevant peers.

Two Questions Benchmarking Answers

Done well, benchmarking answers the two questions that matter most to HR and finance at the same time.

• Are our benefits competitive enough to attract and retain the talent we need?
• Are we paying a fair, market-appropriate price for what we offer?

What to Benchmark

A meaningful comparison looks at more than premium. It examines the full shape of the plan.

• Plan designs: deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums.
• Total cost: premium and the employer versus employee contribution split.
• Benefit richness: the breadth of medical, dental, vision, and voluntary offerings.
• Employer contribution strategy relative to peers.

Choose the Right Comparison Set

Benchmarks are only useful when the comparison group looks like you. The right peer set reflects who you actually compete with for talent.

• Compare against employers of similar size and region.
• Consider industry norms, but weigh competitors for talent even more heavily.
• Look at both what peers offer and what they pay.

Turn Data Into Decisions

Benchmarking is a means, not an end. The value comes from the decisions it informs.

• Identify where you are overspending for average results.
• Spot gaps that may be costing you in recruiting or retention.
• Prioritize plan changes with the clearest return.
• Enter renewals with objective evidence of what fair pricing looks like.

How We Help

As an independent broker, we run benchmarking as an ongoing discipline, not a one-time report. We compare your program against the market, translate the findings into clear options, and use the results as leverage in carrier negotiations. The outcome is a plan you can prove is competitive and fairly priced, backed by evidence rather than assumption.