This company is pushing the boundaries of fertility care

• What's at Stake: Employers risk recruiting and retention declines if fertility benefits remain narrow.
• Expert Quote: We must expand fertility coverage beyond basics, says Lydia Jilek.
• Supporting Data: 1 in 6 families face infertility; 22% can't access services due to cost.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Family-building efforts are still missing a few critical areas of coverage, which is why Securian Financial is expanding its definition of fertility care to meet the needs of more employees. 

Infertility affects one in six families, according to a recent study published by the financial services company. And while 81% of employees feel overall positive about family building, 22% of women of reproductive age report not being able to obtain necessary fertility services due to cost and lack of coverage. As a result, Securian Financial added a new suite of reproductive health benefits to their existing offering in an attempt to bridge any remaining coverage gaps.

"Fertility benefits are definitely something that we have seen come to the forefront over the last decade, and we felt like leaning into that space further would be beneficial," says Lydia Jilek, VP of employee benefits solutions at Securian Financial. "And [after some research], we quickly realized that there were additional needs in the fertility market."

Read more: How Trump IVF policies could accelerate fertility benefit trends

Common fertility benefits often include coverage for assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF and IUI, fertility preservation options like egg, sperm and embryo freezing, and support for adoption or surrogacy. Some plans also cover genetic counseling, fertility medications, diagnostic testing and emotional or mental health services. 

Securian's fertility offering now includes all of these traditional benefits, while also expanding coverage to more specialized services. This includes egg and sperm harvesting, testing and treatment for uterine, fallopian tube, or ovarian abnormalities, reproductive disorders affecting both men and women as well as viral or bacterial reproductive infections.

In addition, Securian has even added coverage for early-onset menopause to their fertility offering, which affects approximately 6.2% of women, according to research from the Mayo Clinic, with 3.1% of women experiencing premature or spontaneous menopause. While early on-set menopause isn't yet directly tied to infertility as directly as some of the other components, it felt like a meaningful addition, Jilek says. 

"We thought to ourselves, what are some of the less-frequent considerations that can really be impactful to people as they are going through this process?" she says. "We have such a good understanding of conditions like heart attacks, cancer and strokes and how to make coverage as inclusive as possible. Since fertility is relatively newer, we have to continue to build upon the things we already have."

Read more: Flora Fertility is giving employees control of their benefits — while lowering costs

Keeping the workforce productive and engaged

Seventy-one percent of employees consider quality family-planning and fertility benefits very important to the workplace, according to Securian's findings, with 63% saying they are more likely to choose an employer offering broader benefits and 67% saying they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if they did. 

Securian's research also found that a comprehensive selection, accessibility and flexibility are the top drivers in employee satisfaction when it comes to their outlook on fertility benefits. This means that leaders' fertility approach has become critical to recruiting and retention strategies.  

"More and more employees are looking for employers that are supportive of inclusive family- forming benefits," Jilek says. "Giving people the opportunity to receive a benefit where they can then potentially use some of those dollars to help support whatever fertility journey they're on will be significant for employers." 

Read more: Maven addresses male and female fertility needs with new tool

Jilek urges employers to think about the role more comprehensive benefits can play in supporting every single demographic of employee they serve. She also suggests making employees a part of the benefit-selection process to ensure that every new investment is reaching employees in need. 

"These are services that help through the whole family-forming process start to finish, and impact employees on every part of the fertility spectrum — including same-sex couples and those seeking to adopt or foster," Jilek says. "As we continue to think about family-building and fertility benefits, listening to employees and encouraging them to ask questions and request the benefits that are impactful to them will continue to be incredibly meaningful."