Employees Want Workplace Benefits Built for Real Life, Not One-Size-Fits-All Programs

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New Prudential study finds household dynamics are reshaping what benefits workers value most, challenging employers to personalize offerings.

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) released a new workplace benefits study today showing that employees increasingly expect a more personalized approach to benefit offerings that help them meet life’s everyday challenges. The research suggests that employees’ benefits preferences vary significantly based on how they live and work — and change as their life does.

The third installment of Prudential’s 2026 Benefits & Beyond study, “The Future of Work: How benefits define culture and drive workforce loyalty,” found that relevance and personalization play a growing role in whether benefits foster workforce loyalty, improve employees’ confidence in making benefit decisions, and help strengthen company culture.

“Life is full of milestones, transitions, and unexpected moments, and benefits should be designed with that reality in mind,” said Michael Estep, president of Prudential Group Insurance at Prudential. “As people’s needs evolve, employers have an opportunity to provide benefits support that feels more relevant and, in return, build a more connected and loyal workforce.”

The research also found that employees with young children and teenagers are among the most engaged with workplace benefits. They are more likely to say their benefits help them manage life challenges, more likely to stay with an employer that offers a strong benefits package, and more likely to feel confident in making benefits decisions.

“Employees don’t necessarily want more benefits. They want help finding the benefits that matter most to them,” said Bianka Douglas, vice president and People Business Leader, Prudential Group Insurance. “When benefits feel more relevant and easier to navigate, employees are more confident in their decisions and more connected to their workplace.”

Other key findings from the study include:

• Benefits are a powerful signal of culture, but they must address real-life needs. While 89% of employers say their benefits package shows they care about employees, only 66% of employees agree. That gap narrows when employees believe their benefits help them meet their current challenges.
• The biggest risk to benefits value isn’t lack of coverage. It’s cost, complexity, and misalignment with real-life needs. While 85% of employers believe their benefits package helps employees meet the challenges they face at any stage in life, just 64% of employees agree. Employees are looking for benefits that are relevant, affordable, and easier to navigate.
• Personalization isn’t just a feature. It’s how benefits scale across a diverse workforce. More than half of employees say they are very or extremely interested in benefit decision-support tools during enrollment, and the same percentage want benefits designed for specific household profiles.

The findings also build on the second installment of Prudential’s 2026 Benefits & Beyond study, which explored how AI could support more personalized benefits experiences. While that research found strong employer interest in using AI to help employees make benefits decisions, the latest installment adds more context to that trend: Employees increasingly want guidance tailored to their individual circumstances.

With 20% of employees reporting they feel overwhelmed during benefits enrollment and only 38% describing themselves as confident, the new study suggests that personalization and AI‑enabled decision support may offer meaningful ways to help employees navigate benefits choices more effectively.

Click here to view and download the study. Visit prudential.com/employers/group-insurance for more information on Prudential Group Insurance’s portfolio of workplace benefits, absence management, and risk-mitigation solutions.

The research was conducted with 3,096 full-time U.S. employees and 760 employers via national online surveys in January 2026.

ABOUT PRUDENTIAL

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a global financial services leader and premier active global investment manager with approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees help make lives better and create financial opportunity for more people by expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security. Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise, and innovation for more than 150 years. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com.

Prudential Group Insurance manufactures and distributes a full range of group life, long-term and short-term disability, and corporate and trust-owned life insurance in the U.S. to institutional clients primarily for use within employee and membership benefits plans. The business also sells critical illness, accidental death and dismemberment, and other ancillary coverages. In addition, the business provides plan administrative services in connection with its insurance coverages, and administrative services for employee-paid and unpaid leave including FMLA, ADA, and PFL.

Group Insurance coverages are issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a Prudential Financial company, Newark, NJ.

© 2026 Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities. Prudential, the Prudential logo, and the Rock symbol are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260824558265/en/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Marisa Amador
973-802-8969
marisa.amador@prudential.com

Source: Prudential Financial, Inc.