Compensation, benefits, retirement, and wellbeing, decoded for the teams balancing what people want against what the budget allows.
The expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits removed the cheap landing spot employees used when they waived coverage, and most opt-out credits and spousal surcharges were never repriced for it.
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SECURE 2.0 replaces the Saver's Credit with a $1,000 deposit into retirement accounts starting in 2027, and plan sponsors must decide this cycle whether their plan accepts the money.
A majority of employers expect 2026 bonuses to land under target, and the communication window closes before checks do. Here is how people ops teams should sequence forecasts, scripts and statements.
The SECURE 2.0 good-faith transition period closes with plan years after Dec. 31, 2026, which makes this the last quarter to align payroll, plan documents, and high-earner messaging.
Employer health budgets for 2027 assume last year's waiver rate holds. As marketplace, retiree and dependent coverage gets pricier, spouses and waivers return to the plan and per-employee math breaks.
With 2027 salary increase budgets holding near 3.4% and health costs climbing far faster, the merit matrix has stopped being a spreadsheet exercise and become the clearest message rewards teams send.
Employers are tightening or dropping weight-loss drug coverage for 2027 plan years, and the decisions are being locked now. The hard part is not the spreadsheet, it is the handoff.
With 2027 medical trend projected near 10% and employers openly planning to pass more cost to workers, the design choice matters less than how people ops sequences and explains it.
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