Meeting the Evolving Health Benefit Needs of Families Throughout the Lifecycle

Today’s workforce is more diverse, mobile and multi-generational than ever before. Employees’ needs, and those of their families, shift significantly over the course of their lives. From welcoming a newborn to managing chronic conditions or caring for ageing parents, families require health benefits that evolve with them.

To remain competitive and supportive, employers must design healthcare benefit strategies that are not only comprehensive but also adaptable and portable. This article explores how businesses can take a lifecycle-based approach to family health benefits, and how Allianz supports employers with tailored, globally consistent solutions that adapt to employees’ evolving needs. 

Employees and their families do not have static healthcare requirements. These change based on age, location, career stage and family structure. Below is a snapshot of common needs across different stages of the family lifecycle:

• Young professionals may prioritise access to preventive care, mental health services and fertility support.
• Parents with young children may value paediatric care, maternity leave and childcare assistance.
• Mid-life employees often seek support for chronic disease management, mental wellbeing and flexible care options.
• Older employees and those with caregiving responsibilities may need eldercare services, access to telemedicine or long-term care solutions.
  
  

A one-size-fits-all approach is no longer effective. Leading employers recognise that flexible, modular and portable plans are essential for supporting families at every stage of life.

To meet these changing needs, benefits plans must be both globally coherent and locally responsive. This includes:

• Modular structures, enabling employees to choose benefits that suit their current life stage.
• Local customisation to reflect differences in healthcare systems and legal requirements.
• Portability to ensure that benefits remain with employees and their families during international relocations or transitions.
  
  

Modular plans also allow employers to future-proof their benefits strategies by accommodating evolving family dynamics and innovations in healthcare.

For multinational organisations and mobile workforces, portability is essential. Families frequently move between countries for assignments, relocations or hybrid remote working arrangements.

Without portable benefits:

• Employees may face disruptions in the continuity of care.
• Dependants may lose access to necessary treatments or medications.
• HR teams must navigate increased complexity when managing compliance and coverage transitions.
  
  

A portable healthcare plan helps to ensure families remain protected, regardless of where life takes them.

A multi-state oil and gas service company experienced rapid growth, expanding from 300 to over 1,600 employees within four years, including the acquisition of another company with approximately 500 employees across several states. This expansion presented challenges in harmonising disparate health and welfare benefit plans to meet the diverse needs of a growing and geographically dispersed workforce.

The company engaged Milliman to assist in redesigning its benefit offerings. The objectives were to:​
 

• Integrate and standardise benefits across all employee groups.
• Introduce modular plan options to cater to varying employee needs and life stages.
• Enhance competitiveness in attracting and retaining talent, especially in the wake of going public.
• Ensure compliance with healthcare reform requirements.​

Key outcomes of the redesign included:​

• Implementation of a core benefits package supplemented with optional modules, allowing employees to tailor their benefits according to personal and family needs.
• Introduction of short- and long-term disability plans, a Section 125 plan, and vision coverage.
• Adjustment of employer contributions to make family coverage more affordable, resulting in increased enrolment in family tiers.
• Streamlined benefits administration, facilitating smoother employee transfers between subsidiaries without benefit discrepancies.​

This case exemplifies how organisations can effectively adopt a modular, lifecycle-based approach to employee benefits, ensuring flexibility, compliance, and alignment with workforce needs.​

Source: Milliman Case Study: Redesigning Health and Welfare Benefit Plans

Allianz understands that every family is unique and that healthcare needs shift over time. That is why Allianz offers:

• Modular and customisable health plans, allowing families to choose the benefits most relevant to them.
• Portable cover that maintains access to care across borders.
• Local market expertise to ensure culturally appropriate and legally compliant solutions.
• Digital tools and multilingual support to help families access services regardless of their location.
  
  

From prenatal care to long-term elder support, Allianz helps employers offer meaningful, practical and consistent support to employees and their families.

Employers who prioritise adaptable family health benefits foster not only wellbeing but also loyalty, productivity and workforce resilience. HR leaders and global mobility managers can drive this evolution by:

• Conducting benefits assessments across the employee lifecycle.
• Collecting employee feedback on changing family and health needs.
• Using data and insights to identify service gaps.
• Collaborating with partners like Allianz to design scalable and personalised solutions.

On this International Day of Families and beyond, employers can rethink the role of healthcare benefits in supporting modern family life. A lifecycle approach ensures that benefits grow and adapt as employees' needs change, enhancing wellbeing across all stages of life.

Working with Allianz provides organisations with flexible, high-quality solutions that reflect the evolving expectations of today's families.