Employees are picking up second jobs to gain fertility benefits

The conversation around fertility benefits and support has come a long way, but many employees looking to start families still have to make hard calls to get the assistance they need — like picking up a side-gig. 

Fertility issues affect approximately one in six people, according to the World Health Organization. Still, 29% of employees said that in order to pay for fertility treatments, they would need to incur a significant amount of debt, according to a recent survey from healthcare platform Carrot Fertility. Thirty-nine percent said they'd need to dip into their savings, and nearly half of respondents said they'd even consider taking a second job to afford fertility treatments. 

"There is simply a business imperative to offer family-building benefits," says Shelly MacConnell, chief strategy officer at WIN. "And we see that through the people that are moving jobs in order to have access to the benefits, or those that are taking on additional jobs in order to have access to benefits when their primary work does not provide it."  

Read more: Justworks and Kindbody extend free fertility benefits to small employers

According to a recent study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, fewer than half of U.S. organizations have included fertility benefits in their 2023 benefits packages. Sixty-three percent of HR respondents said they expect to increase family health benefits within the next few years, according to virtual healthcare platform Maven, but employees searching for support in building a family now are still left with few — and often expensive — options. 

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) could cost an employee anywhere from $12,000 to $17,000 for a single cycle without medication, and closer to $25,000 with medication, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as reported in the New York Times. The data also found that the average fertility patient needs around six rounds of IVF before falling pregnant. Intrauterine insemination can cost between $300 and $1,000 without insurance, according to a Planned Parenthood estimate, and could also require multiple rounds. Regular health insurance rarely covers the full extent of the process if at all, but expanding employer coverage to include dedicated fertility and family planning benefits could close the gap. 

"There are concerns about cost and concerns about the ability to administer these programs," MacConnell says. "But for employers that want to attract and retain top talent, fertility benefits are a driver, period."

Until this is more common, however, employees will continue to switch jobs and take on secondary jobs both to better afford fertility treatments, and because some of those part-time employers do offer family-building benefits. More companies, including Amazon and Starbucks, are extending fertility benefits to their part-time workers, meaning that full-time employees at other companies can turn to picking up shifts as a means to get the support they need. But it's important that they know what they're looking for, MacConnell says. 

Read more: The price of starting a family: Are fertility treatments LGBTQ friendly?

"Employees should be looking closely at the definition of what would be covered under the benefit," she says. "For example, if this is someone who is part of the LGBTQ community or a single parent by choice, will the benefit cover them? They should also look into whether there is any kind of waiting period or minimum hours or requirement in order to have benefit eligibility, as well as what kind of pharmacy and medical benefits it comes with." 

Family-building plans should also include an employee's ability to preserve their fertility, according to MacConnell. This means that employees seeking side hustles or second jobs for better coverage should also be ensuring that whatever benefit offering these part-time positions have, it extends to egg and sperm freezing, too. But it's MacConnell's hope that employers see the trend of finding supplementary work for what it is: a call for change. 

"I expect a continued increase in the number of employers that offer these benefits, an enhanced richness of the benefits provided and an expansion of the population eligible for the benefits," she says. "It has happened, and I expect it to continue happening until ultimately these benefits are entirely the norm."