AXP American Express Company

By Vanessa Fuhrmans 

Companies are turning to bigger and better fertility-treatment benefits to help lure the best and the brightest.

With the tightest U.S. labor market in two decades, employers are scouring for ways to stand out in the war for top talent. Many say they've found an edge not just by helping employees pay for costly in vitro fertilization, or IVF, and other assisted-reproduction treatments but by making existing coverage more generous and accessible than before.

"If we're going to meet our [head count] growth projections, we have to be really competitive," says Meghan Lapides, human resources chief at location-technology company Foursquare, which recently expanded its fertility coverage to include any fertility-related treatment, such as egg freezing, and ensure same-sex couples and single, would-be parents can also use the benefit.

Some 66% of employers plan to offer fertility benefits by 2019, according to a January survey by advisory firm Willis Towers Watson PLC. That is up from 55% last year. The survey included around 400 companies with a total seven million workers. Of employers already offering financial assistance, 81% said the benefits would apply to same-sex couples next year, compared with 65% in 2017. Those boosting coverage cited wanting to diversify their ranks and to better recruit and retain people as their top reasons.

The image-sharing platform Pinterest Inc. upped its IVF coverage to $20,000 last year from a maximum $5,000 in 2016. Since January, it now offers up to four IVF cycles over a lifetime, which in many U.S. cities would cost between $50,000 and $75,000. American Express Co. boosted its lifetime maximum benefit for infertility treatments to $35,000 from $20,000 last year, while business-software giant SAP SE expanded its coverage from a maximum $15,000 to two IVF cycles, while continuing to offer up to $15,000 toward fertility-drug costs.

Before last September, Foursquare offered $10,000 in fertility-treatment coverage. It has since changed the benefit so that employees don't have to establish infertility as a precondition to use it, meaning a broader range of workers can take advantage. A lesbian couple, for instance, could use the benefit for IVF, or a single woman could access it for egg freezing.

A November survey by FertilityIQ, a website for people to review and search for fertility doctors and clinics, suggests such efforts make a difference in how workers feel about their employers. More than 60% of IVF patients whose employers helped shoulder the cost said the benefit made them more likely to stay in their jobs longer, while 53% said they were more willing to overlook shortcomings at their companies as a result.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2018 09:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

American Express (NYSE:AXP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

American Express (NYSE:AXP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024