Previously a luxury for tech workers, fertility benefits are now more common across industries, according to benefits providers Progyny and Carrot.
Luca Sola/AFP/Getty Images
Getting access to fertility benefits through your employer used to feel like a luxury reserved for workers at major tech companies. Not anymore.
More and more companies from many different industries are offering fertility benefits to their employees. Benefit plans vary but can include coverage for infertility treatments, egg and sperm freezing, adoption, and surrogacy, among others.
"This is no longer nice to have. This is a must-have," Pete Anevski, the CEO of fertility benefits provider Progyny, told Business Insider of fertility benefits, adding that he thinks it's only a matter of time before different industries will realize they need to offer them too.
When Progyny launched in 2016, many of its early clients were indeed tech companies, primarily on the West Coast. But today they serve more than 460 companies across over 45 different industries. Some of their clients include Microsoft and Google, but also Nike and MassMutual.
"The good news is today it's no longer industry-specific," Anevski said, adding, "It was at the beginning."
Megan Garner, a spokesperson for Carrot, another fertility benefits provider, said their 1,000-plus clients span just about every industry: financial and legal services, automotive, manufacturing, retail, food and beverage, tech, entertainment, sports, and more.
Fertility benefits plans range widely and can include many different treatments and services that could be partially or fully covered by the employer, depending on the plan. Many companies offer fertility benefits by partnering with providers like Progyny and Carrot, which offer customizable plans.
Garner said some Carrot customers choose to cover $5,000 in fertility care for an employee over their entire time with the company, while others will cover over $80,000.
Some of the best fertility coverage offered by Progyny can include things like unlimited rounds of IVF treatments or $40,000 or more to go toward surrogacy, according to Anevski.
Regardless of plan details, the trend lines are clear: the number of companies offering fertility benefits to their employees rises every year, and many companies that already offer them continue to expand their coverage. As of 2022, 54% of US employers with 20,000 workers or more offered fertility benefits for IVF treatments, Fortune reported, citing benefits consultant Mercer.
Offering great fertility benefits is one way companies can compete for top talent, especially millennials and younger professionals. A recent HR Brew/Harris Poll found that, overall, 63% of respondents thought companies should offer fertility benefits to employees. That number was 73% for Gen Z and millennials.
The poll found that the number of respondents who reported that their employer offered fertility benefits doubled from December 2022, when it was 6%, to March 2024, when it was 12%.
Garner said they found that 90% of people who get fertility benefits through Carrot said they are more likely to remain at their company because of their Carrot plan.
Anevski said fertility benefits are especially important as they are currently being utilized by millennial workers, who make up the largest share of the workforce today and are having children later in life than the generations before them.
"The societal trend of everybody waiting long and longer to have a baby is real," he said.
As women have become less likely to have children under 30, more women are having children well into their 30s or 40s, which has, in turn, increased demand for fertility treatments and benefits.
Anevski said many of its clients also add to the benefits they offer employees each year, adding that over the past two years, more than 20% of its client base has expanded benefits in some way.
"The opposite also isn't happening," he said. "Even though the last two years were a tougher macroeconomic environment, nobody cuts the benefit back."
One aspect that's becoming more common for companies to offer is egg freezing.
"Fertility preservation, when people are waiting longer and longer to have a baby, is really important," Anevski said. "If you think about it, it's preventative medicine."
Anevski expects the number of businesses and industries offering fertility benefits will only increase, especially as top talent comes to expect it as part of a desirable job.
At this point, he thinks it's just a matter of timing as to when companies will offer them, not if.
