Employee Benefits Market Check Survey: Employer Compliance Perspectives

Sponsors of health and welfare plans may have noticed an increased scrutiny of employee benefit offerings recently. Employers face more complexity than ever before, making compliance and documentation more critical.

To gauge the temperature of how employers feel about their compliance status, we conducted two polls on October 23, focusing on how organizations are approaching initiatives for 2026 and beyond. The following results highlight employer attitudes.

How concerned are you that your organization may face compliance scrutiny in the next 12-24 months?

*Results based on 125 employer respondents.

How concerned are you that your organization may face compliance scrutiny in the next 12-24 months?

*Results based on 120 employer respondents. Respondents could select multiple options.

Key Findings

Approximately 80% of respondents have moderate or no concern that they will face any additional scrutiny of their benefit offerings in the next year or two. While apprehensions are low, a notable portion of respondents (74%) are taking proactive steps to ensure readiness. Benefit managers should take the time to review their compliance posture, recognizing that compliance is a process that requires continuous attention. Some companies believe that because they are small, they wouldn’t be a candidate for an audit; however, plan size doesn’t matter if litigation or an investigation arises from a participant complaint or a regulatory inquiry.

Beyond conducting audits or reviewing documentation, what are some other ways employers can respond to these issues?

• Review fiduciary roles
• Formalize governance
• Ensure accurate and timely documentation and update documents when necessary
• Conduct audits of external vendors
• Review employee communications to ensure they are clear and consistent
• Stay informed as this area will continue to change, both at the federal and state levels.

Remaining compliant not only avoids costly penalties, it can also further build trust with those employees the benefit plans strive to protect and reinforces the integrity of the benefit plans designed to insure them.

Should you have any questions regarding any of this information or want to discuss your compliance strategy, please contact your local Assurex Global adviser.