2023 Midyear Benefits Trends
July 26, 2023
2023 Midyear Benefits Trends

Heading into the latter half of 2023, there are several benefits trends impacting employers. While some of these trends are new, many are not, and employers have been trying to address many of the same benefits challenges for the last few years. Some employers have responded to these challenges by attempting to meet employee demands, such as offering competitive benefits or flexible work arrangements, but by and large, most employers are currently struggling to find adequate solutions. These challenges are likely to continue through the remainder of 2023. However, understanding the latest benefits trends can help employers evaluate their offerings to best meet employee needs, respond successfully to their challenges and give them an advantage over their competitors. Proactively reacting to these trends can help keep employees happy, healthy and loyal.


This article explores benefits trends to watch in the second half of 2023, discussing how they will likely impact employers and offering strategies to address them.


Employers Struggle to Mitigate Rising Health Care Costs

Finding ways to reign in rising health care costs while keeping benefits affordable is critical for employers during the second half of 2023; however, this won’t be easy. Health care costs have risen sharply over the last few years and will likely continue to rise. While average costs increased by 3.2% in 2022, employers expect an increase of 5.4% in 2023, according to a Mercer survey. What’s worse, many employers feel they’re running out of cost containment strategies to combat increasing costs.


Zywave’s 2023 Broker Services Survey found that employers seem to be frustrated by the limited options to address their rising health care costs. Many feel they’ve exhausted traditional approaches to health care cost mitigation, such as guiding employees to cost-effective care, improving health care literacy and leveraging technology. As a result, unless employers are willing to take more drastic measures, such as modifying health plan designs or funding, there may be little they can do to mitigate such rising costs. Compounding concerns, if a recession arrives during the second half of the year, as many economists predict, addressing health care costs will likely become even more challenging for employers.


Employers also revealed in the 2023 Broker Services Survey that they are uncertain whether their current plan design provides the best value as they try to mitigate health care costs. This uncertainty likely stems from employers feeling they have limited options to alleviate such costs, especially since established mechanisms that have helped reduce health care costs seem less effective. As a result, employers may need to implement significant changes to mitigate rising health care costs; however, many organizations will likely find altering health plan funding or design unpalatable because of the substantial risk of making mistakes and uncertainty, especially as the U.S. economy is in flux.


Despite these challenges, many employers will likely find it difficult to reduce or eliminate benefits due to a surprisingly strong labor market and employee expectations. While health care costs are not likely to decline any time soon, planning and implementing proactive strategies to minimize the impact of rising costs will likely have the largest impact.


AI Aims to Improve Benefits Administration

In 2023, artificial intelligence (AI) has made its way into many workplaces nationwide and is revolutionizing how organizations operate and make decisions. Employers are searching for ways to leverage this technology’s ability to create efficiencies, enhance workflows, streamline operations and improve customer experience. This technology has the potential to help employers streamline employee benefits administration, thus reducing costs, increasing accuracy and improving compliance. AI can improve and enhance employers’ benefits administration by: 


  • Streamlining benefits administration—AI can help automate manual, repetitive tasks, such as open enrollment, eligibility verification, claims processing and plan design. By automating these tasks, organizations can reduce their administrative burdens and improve accuracy.
  • Boosting employee self-service—AI chatbots can support employees by answering benefits-related questions, guiding them through enrollment and resolving potential issues. Utilizing AI technology can improve benefits accessibility and help employees to better manage their benefits on their own.
  • Personalizing benefits offerings—Employers can tailor their offerings to meet employee needs and preferences with the help of AI. These systems can sift through large amounts of data, such as demographic information, employee health records and health care utilization, to better personalize an organization’s benefits offerings.
  • Providing decision support—AI tools can empower employees to make informed benefits-related decisions by analyzing individual health and utilization data and providing tailored recommendations.
  • Improving compliance and risk management—Complying with benefits requirements and regulations can be challenging and often creates large administrative burdens for organizations as they try to stay informed and up to date on any changes. AI technology can monitor legislative changes and automate compliance updates in an organization’s benefits administration systems.
  • Delivering predictive analytics and cost optimization—AI tools can also help organizations forecast future benefits trends and needs by analyzing market data and historical trends. This can enable employers to make more informed decisions regarding plan designs and modifications, adjust benefits offerings to better suit employee needs and negotiate better rates. 


While many employers have embraced AI technology to aid in benefits administration, more employers are expected to follow suit in the second half of 2023 and beyond. However, employers must proceed with caution when implementing AI tools because these systems’ capabilities are limited by the information used to train them. Additionally, these tools may inadvertently reveal employee health information or make decisions that lead to biased or discriminatory outcomes. AI-generated errors like these can be costly, subjecting organizations to government audits, fines and penalties. Understanding how this technology works and ensuring human oversight can help organizations anticipate and address potential issues before they become problems.


Because AI technology in the workplace is still largely unregulated, there are many gray areas employers must navigate. Laws and regulations haven’t kept up with employers’ acceptance and incorporation of this technology. While many existing laws address AI-related issues, as a whole, such technology is a relatively new legal area. There’s currently a patchwork of federal and state regulations that address aspects of using AI tools in the employment context and benefits administration; however, legal issues related to these tools will likely continue to emerge as AI technology develops and becomes more advanced. Therefore, employers should stay current on all applicable laws and regulations impacting AI systems. Employers should consider establishing governance policies and procedures to evaluate and monitor AI tools as well as assess their long-term impacts. This can help ensure that organizations use AI tools responsibly and integrate such technology to complement human activity in the workplace in 2023 and beyond.


Pay Transparency Becomes the New Norm

Despite many employers’ reluctance to embrace pay transparency—because it can reveal unintended pay gaps and trigger questions from current employees— the practice is expected to become the norm in 2023. At the start of 2023, a fifth of all U.S. workers were covered by pay transparency laws. In 2021, Colorado was the first jurisdiction to enact such laws. Since then, many states and localities have enacted their own pay transparency laws, including:


  • California
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Connecticut
  • Ithaca, New York
  • Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Maryland
  • Nevada
  • New York City
  • Rhode Island
  • Toledo, Ohio
  • Washington
  • Westchester County, New York


Even if employers are currently unaffected by pay transparency mandates, they should consider developing strategies to address this issue since pay transparency likely already impacts them directly or indirectly. Employers can protect themselves and help ensure compliance with applicable laws by understanding applicable pay transparency requirements and regularly reviewing job postings.


Pay transparency laws present distinct compliance challenges for employers subject to them since they vary depending on the state or locality. Employer compliance difficulties are often greater for organizations that recruit and hire employees across state lines. This has been further complicated by the general acceptance of remote work. Hiring remote workers can trigger legal obligations and create potential risks even in states where employers do not have a physical presence. To limit potential compliance issues, some employers may avoid hiring remote workers or workers who reside in states with pay transparency laws; however, this is likely an unsustainable strategy for employers, as it can drastically limit their recruiting pool. In contrast, some employers are ensuring their job postings comply with the strictest pay transparency requirements. This can include revamping hiring and recruitment practices to comply with pay transparency requirements, standardizing job postings to include salary ranges and benefits information, or tailoring job postings for states and localities with pay transparency laws.


Not only are more states and localities implementing pay transparency laws, but pay transparency is also becoming more important to workers. Employees overwhelmingly support pay transparency because it can help them to avoid applying for jobs they wouldn’t accept due to low pay, negotiate for better salaries and build trust with their employers. It also helps hold employers accountable for providing similar wages for similar roles. According to recent data from global employment website Monster, 98% of employees said employers should disclose pay ranges in job postings, with more than half saying they’d refuse to apply for jobs that do not disclose pay ranges, even in states where pay transparency isn’t legally required. Since applicants and employees value pay transparency, employers can benefit from providing pay-related information even when not required to do so; those who offer pay transparency tend to receive more applicants and save time and money in recruitment efforts by ensuring candidates don’t reject job offers due to insufficient pay.


Paid Leave Laws Are Impacting More Employers

Several employers expanded their leave policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including increasing paid leave; however, in 2022, many organizations reversed course and reduced leave benefits to pre-pandemic levels. Despite this, many states have enacted laws to provide paid family and medical leave, and more are expected to do so in the near future. Currently, 11 states and the District of Columbia have state-run, mandatory paid family and medical leave programs that cover most private sector employees. Some of these laws have or will become effective in 2023. Other states, including New Hampshire and Vermont, have enacted voluntary paid leave laws. As a result, paid leave laws will soon impact more employers. Therefore, employers who are or will soon be subject to paid leave laws should ensure their workplace policies are compliant with 2023 requirements.


For employers not subject to paid leave requirements, now is a critical time for employers to consider their leave policies. Providing employees with paid leave is an effective way to support employee well-being and strengthen their attraction and retention efforts. Paid leave can include:


  • Medical leave, covering a worker’s own serious health condition
  • Parental leave, covering bonding with a new child (may also be referred to as maternity leave, paternity leave or bonding leave)
  • Caregiving leave, covering caring for a loved one with a serious health condition
  • Deployment-related leave, covering needs in connection with a loved one’s current or impending active duty military service
  • Safe leave, covering needs when a worker or their loved one is a victim of sexual or domestic violence


Expanding paid leave benefits can be an important talent acquisition strategy for employers since candidates and employees prioritize these benefits. These benefits can provide employees with an important safety net and peace of mind, helping build trust and increase loyalty.


The Battle Over Remote and Hybrid Work Continues

Remote and hybrid work arrangements were widely embraced by employers and employees at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As lockdown orders lifted, many employers continued to offer these flexible work arrangements for various reasons, including acquiescing to employee demands during a tight labor market. Although remote and hybrid work is expected to continue to play an integral role in the work landscape, 2023 has seen some significant changes to these arrangements. These changes will likely continue to change and evolve throughout the remainder of the year.


Employers are concerned that remote and hybrid work arrangements have led to a drop in employee production. 


According to a Microsoft survey, 85% of leaders believe hybrid work has made it difficult to be confident that employees are productive, despite 87% of employees reporting they are productive at work; only 12% of senior leaders have full confidence their employees are productive.


Many employers believe that having employees return to in-office work will boost workforce productivity. Organizations also believe that activities such as culture building, collaboration, employee engagement, mentoring and innovation are easier in in-office settings. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many workers to reprioritize work as an aspect of their life instead of the main focus. Additionally, remote and hybrid work arrangements allowed employees to experience the benefits of working from home. Many have come to prefer these flexible work arrangements because they feel they can remain productive at work but have more resources and personal time for families and hobbies by not having to commute. This has allowed many employees to improve their work-life balance and general well-being.


While many employers requested that employees return to in-office work in 2022, they started requiring it in 2023. Organizations attempted to leverage the economic downturn to force employees to return to the office. However, as employers request or require employees to return to in-person work, many have refused or are not fully complying. Large corporations like Amazon, Apple and Twitter are currently struggling with workers refusing to follow return to office (RTO) orders. Employee refusals have caused some organizations to change course and soften RTO orders; others have doubled down on their efforts to have employees return, threatening to terminate those that don’t return. The return to office battle that has been simmering for the last few years seems to be nearing a boiling point, leaving many employers in a difficult position.


Employees’ refusal to return to the office has highlighted the different understanding between employees and employers as to the purpose of the office. It has also signaled a significant change in work culture and employee expectations. While the majority of U.S. workers do not work from home, for those who do, there’s currently a battle about where they’ll work in the future. By considering the reasons why employers want employees to return to in-office work and communicating those reasons to employees, employers are more likely to experience less pushback from employees. Employers can also consider the following strategies when asking employees to return to the office:


  • Determine the reasons why employees need to return.
  • Obtain employee input.
  • Provide clear guidelines.
  • Support employees during the transition.


Whether employers embrace flexible work arrangements or ask employees to return to the office, it’s important they help employees to find ways to help improve their mental health and well-being. This can enable employees to feel happier and more productive regardless of where and how they work.


Organizations Expand Family-building Benefits While Prioritizing Reproductive Health

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade— ending federal protections for abortion rights and permitting states to implement their own regulations— continues to impact employee benefits considerations in 2023. The Supreme Court’s ruling eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion care has led to a patchwork of state laws on this type of health care; several states banned or restricted insurance coverage for abortion, while others require plans to cover the procedure. Legal challenges to these laws are currently ongoing, and more are expected going forward, making it unclear what the landscape will look like in the near future. This has created challenges for employers as they try to find ways to support their employees’ needs and provide competitive benefits. As a result, employers must carefully evaluate any reproductive health-related benefit offered under their group health plans to ensure full compliance with applicable laws and restrictions.


While the Supreme Court’s ruling has presented several important considerations for employers providing abortion-related benefits, it has also brought a renewed focus on reproductive health and family-building benefits. Many larger employers, such as Walmart and Target, have embraced fertility and family-planning benefits. This seems to be part of a broader trend of employers offering benefits that employees say they need, like mental health and financial planning resources. According to Maven Clinic’s State of Fertility & Family Benefits in 2023 report, 87% of HR professionals said they recognized family benefits are “extremely important” to current and prospective employees and 63% said they planned to increase family health benefits within the next few years. The same report revealed that 30% of employees are currently expecting a child or hope to grow their family within the next couple of years. Additionally, 43% said they expect to need fertility treatments, adoption services and surrogacy services to do so.


Many employers are doing more to support their employees through every stage of their family-building process. For example, employers are increasingly providing employees with family-friendly benefits, such as paid parental leave, paid adoption leave, surrogacy benefits, hormone replacement therapy and doula care. Others are providing specialized benefits to support women’s reproductive health by offering the following benefits:


  • Family planning assistance
  • High-risk pregnancy care
  • Pregnancy, lactation, postpartum and menopause support
  • Travel benefits


These benefits can have a significant impact on an employee’s productivity, happiness and overall wellbeing. Family-building benefits can also strengthen an organization’s attraction and retention efforts, improve employees’ quality of life and create an inclusive, healthy workplace. As workers continue to struggle financially because of inflation and other economic concerns, family-building benefits have become even more important since they can provide individuals and families with vital medical and economic support, enabling them to safely achieve their family-planning goals. In 2023, employers have a great opportunity to impact employees on and off the job by offering or expanding family-building benefits.


Employer Takeaways

In 2023, employers continue to deal with many of the same challenges they’ve faced for several years. Unfortunately, many of these challenges will likely continue through the second half of 2023 and into the foreseeable future.


It’s vital for employers to find ways to meet these challenges in practical and cost-effective ways, especially as the U.S. economy remains in flux. While the best strategies will vary by workplace, being aware of current benefits trends can guide employers as they strategize and take action. Recognizing these trends can help employers to respond in meaningful ways to help keep employees healthier, happier and more productive.


For more information on today’s benefits trends, contact us today.

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How Financial Wellness Supports the Employee Experience

September 21, 2026
For a long time, conversations about employee financial wellbeing started and ended with compensation. Pay people accurately, pay them on time, offer a competitive benefits package, and the employer had largely done its part. Those things are still fundamental. But the way employees experience their finances is much broader than a paycheck arriving every other Friday. A car repair does not wait until payday. A medical bill can arrive unexpectedly. Someone trying to improve their credit may not know where to begin. Another employee may be juggling everyday expenses while trying to save for a home, pay down debt or simply build a little more breathing room into their monthly budget. Employers are not expected to solve those challenges. But increasingly, they are recognizing that they can make useful resources easier to access. That shift is helping financial wellness become a more meaningful part of the overall employee experience. Financial Wellness Is Really About Giving Employees More Options There is no single definition of financial wellness that applies to everyone. For one employee, it may mean learning how to build a budget that actually works for their household. For another, it may mean having access to earned wages when an unexpected expense comes up before payday. Someone else may be focused on improving their credit, understanding financial terminology or finding an easier way to complete an employment or income verification. That is part of what makes this area different from many traditional benefits. Employees are not all trying to solve the same problem at the same time. A strong financial wellness approach does not assume that they are. Instead, it gives employees access to a range of resources and allows them to decide what is useful for their own circumstances. The employer is not stepping into the role of financial adviser. The employer is simply making it easier for employees to find tools, education and support when they need them. That can be a powerful distinction. The Employee Experience Extends Beyond What Happens at Work When organizations think about employee experience, the conversation often centers on things like company culture, managers, career development, recognition and benefits. Those things matter enormously. But employees also bring the realities of everyday life with them when they come to work. Financial concerns are one of those realities. An employee who is worried about an unexpected expense, trying to make sense of debt or unsure where to find reliable financial information may still show up and do their job well. But that does not mean those concerns disappear during the workday. This is where employers have an opportunity to think more broadly about support. The goal is not to remove every source of financial stress. That would be unrealistic. The opportunity is to make certain situations a little easier to navigate by connecting employees with resources they may not otherwise know about or have convenient access to. Sometimes that means education. Sometimes it means greater flexibility. Sometimes it simply means removing friction from an everyday process. Taken together, those small improvements can contribute to an employee experience that feels more thoughtful and supportive. Useful Benefits Are Often the Ones Employees Can Actually Use Employers spend significant time and money building benefits packages, but a benefit only creates value when employees understand it and can realistically access it. That is one reason financial wellness resources are particularly interesting. Many of them are designed around practical, everyday needs rather than something an employee may only use once or twice a year. They can help people answer questions, learn something new, access information or manage an immediate financial need. This creates an opportunity for employers to think beyond simply adding more benefits. Sometimes the better question is: How can we make the resources already available to employees more useful, accessible and relevant to their daily lives? That mindset can be especially valuable for organizations that want to improve the employee experience without adding another complicated program for HR to administer. The Payroll and HCM Experience Is Changing Too Payroll technology has traditionally been viewed as operational infrastructure. It calculates pay, handles taxes, stores employee information and keeps the organization moving. All of that remains essential. But modern HCM platforms increasingly sit at the center of much more of the employee experience. Employees may log into the same system to view a paystub, update personal information, enroll in benefits, request time off or access other workplace resources. Because they are already interacting with that technology, it creates a natural place to connect them with additional tools. That matters. A resource hidden on an intranet page that no one remembers exists has limited value. A resource that is connected to technology employees already use has a much better chance of becoming part of their normal experience. For HR teams, there is another benefit: introducing additional employee resources does not necessarily have to mean introducing another disconnected system, another login or another administrative burden. When tools work within the broader HCM ecosystem, employers can expand what they offer while keeping the experience simpler for everyone involved. Financial Wellness Can Support the Employer, Too The most important reason to offer financial wellness resources is the value they can provide to employees. But there is an employer benefit as well. Organizations are continually looking for meaningful ways to strengthen their employee value proposition. Compensation will always be a major part of that equation, but employees also notice how easy or difficult it is to navigate everyday life at work. Can they find the information they need? Are useful resources clearly communicated? Does the technology make things easier? Does their employer seem to think about the employee experience beyond the minimum requirements? Those details shape how people experience an organization. Financial wellness resources can become one more way for employers to demonstrate that support in a practical way. They can complement existing benefits, help employees get more value from the technology already in place and give HR teams another resource to point employees toward when appropriate. The value is not necessarily in one dramatic program. Often, it is the accumulation of small conveniences and helpful resources that makes an employee experience feel noticeably better. A New Set of Resources for Simco Clients This thinking is part of why we were excited to recently expand the resources available to Simco clients through our partnership with isolved. Through isolved People Cloud™, eligible employees now have access to additional tools from FinFit, ZayZoon and Equifax , each designed to support a different part of the financial wellness and employee experience. FinFit provides financial education and wellness resources that can help employees build knowledge and confidence around everyday financial decisions. ZayZoon offers employees additional financial flexibility, including access to earned wages before the traditional payday when needed. Equifax provides employment and income verification services that can help simplify a process employees may encounter when applying for a loan, renting a home or completing other important financial transactions. Each resource serves a different purpose, and not every employee will need every tool. That is exactly the point. The goal is to create more options and make them easier to access. Making Resources Available Is Only the First Step One of the easiest mistakes employers can make is assuming that introducing a new benefit automatically means employees will use it. Usually, awareness has to come first. Employees need to know what a resource is, why it exists and when they might consider using it. That communication does not have to be complicated. A short reminder in an employee newsletter, a mention during onboarding, a benefits communication or an occasional educational email can go a long way toward keeping useful resources visible. It can also help to communicate these tools in terms employees actually relate to. Instead of simply saying, “We offer a financial wellness program,” explain what that could mean in real life: Need help understanding your budget? There is a resource for that. Want to learn more about credit? There is a resource for that. Need access to part of your earned pay before payday? There may be an option available. Completing an income verification? That process may already be easier than you think. When employees understand the practical purpose behind a resource, it becomes much more meaningful. A Better Employee Experience Is Often Built in Small Ways Supporting employees does not always require launching a major new initiative. Sometimes it means looking at the systems, benefits and resources already surrounding employees and asking whether they could be doing more. Could something be easier to access? Could employees have more flexibility? Could a process require fewer steps? Could a resource help someone feel more informed or confident? Those may seem like small questions, but they are increasingly important ones. Financial wellness is ultimately about giving employees more tools to navigate their own financial lives. Employers do not need to have every answer, and they do not need to solve every challenge. But they can help create an environment where useful resources are easier to find, easier to understand and available when they matter. For Simco, that is what makes these new resources exciting. They are not simply additional features inside a platform. They are another way the technology our clients already use can create a better experience for the people behind every payroll.  Want to learn more about the financial wellness resources now available through Simco and isolved? Contact our team to learn more.

Is Pet Insurance Worth It? A Practical Guide for Pet Owners

September 14, 2026
For most pet owners, the hardest part of an unexpected vet visit is not deciding whether you want your pet to get care. It is figuring out how you are going to pay for it. Maybe your dog swallows something it should not, your cat suddenly stops eating, or a routine appointment turns into testing, medication or a specialist referral. Veterinary expenses can add up quickly, and that is where pet insurance can become valuable. That does not mean pet insurance is automatically the right choice for every household. Some people prefer paying a monthly premium for added peace of mind, while others would rather set money aside themselves and take on more of the financial risk. So instead of simply asking, “Is pet insurance worth it?” a more practical question is: “Would pet insurance make an unexpected veterinary expense easier for me to handle?” Here are a few things to consider before deciding. Pet Insurance Pros and Cons Pros Can make a major, unexpected veterinary bill easier to manage. May give you more flexibility when deciding between treatment options. Can provide peace of mind if an emergency expense would otherwise strain your budget. Depending on the policy, may cover care such as surgery, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, prescriptions and treatment for serious illnesses. Makes some veterinary expenses more predictable by exchanging part of the financial risk for a regular premium. Can be especially helpful when purchased while a pet is young and healthy. Cons Pre-existing conditions are generally not covered. Premiums can increase as your pet gets older. Routine care such as annual exams, vaccinations and preventive dental care may not be included unless you purchase additional wellness coverage. You may still have deductibles, reimbursement percentages and coverage limits to consider. Many plans require you to pay the veterinarian first and wait for reimbursement. If your pet stays healthy for most of its life, you may pay more in premiums than you receive back in claims. Start With the Question That Matters Most Imagine your pet suddenly needs emergency treatment or surgery. Could you comfortably pay the bill without using a credit card, dipping into money needed for other expenses or delaying treatment? If the answer is yes, you may feel comfortable taking on more of that risk yourself. If the answer is no, or if paying a large vet bill would put you in a difficult financial position, pet insurance may be worth considering. This is really what insurance is designed for. You are not necessarily purchasing it because you expect to “get your money back.” You are purchasing protection against the possibility of an expense that would be difficult to absorb on your own. Understand What You Are Actually Buying Pet insurance policies can look similar at first glance, but the details matter. Most traditional pet insurance is designed around unexpected accidents and illnesses rather than everyday veterinary care. Depending on the plan, coverage may include things such as: Emergency treatment Surgery Hospitalization Diagnostic testing Prescription medications Treatment for illnesses such as cancer Injuries from accidents Certain hereditary or congenital conditions Routine care is often handled differently. Annual checkups, vaccines, routine dental cleanings, flea and tick prevention, and other preventive care may not be part of a standard accident-and-illness policy. Some insurers offer separate wellness or preventive-care options. Before purchasing anything, ask one very simple question: “What expenses would I still be responsible for even if I had this policy?” That question often tells you more than the headline benefits. Pre-Existing Conditions Are Important One of the biggest misunderstandings about pet insurance is when coverage begins. Pet insurance generally protects against new illnesses and injuries that happen after coverage starts and any applicable waiting period ends. If your pet already has a diagnosed condition, symptoms or an ongoing medical issue, that condition may be excluded from coverage. That is one reason people often explore pet insurance when their pet is still young and healthy instead of waiting until a health concern appears. If your pet already has medical issues, that does not necessarily mean insurance has no value. It simply means you should understand exactly which conditions would and would not be covered before purchasing a policy. Do Not Look at the Premium Alone A low monthly premium can look attractive, but it does not tell you how much protection you are actually getting. Pay attention to: The deductible. This is the amount you are responsible for before the policy begins reimbursing eligible expenses. The reimbursement percentage. Some policies reimburse a portion of an eligible bill rather than the full amount. Annual or lifetime limits. Some plans cap how much they will pay during a certain period. Exclusions. Certain illnesses, treatments, breeds or conditions may have restrictions. Waiting periods. Coverage may not begin immediately after you enroll. A slightly more expensive policy may sometimes provide substantially better protection, while a cheaper policy may leave you responsible for more of the bill. The goal should be finding coverage that fits both your budget and the level of financial protection you actually want. Think About How You Would Handle an Emergency One practical way to decide whether pet insurance makes sense is to think through your backup plan. If your pet needed expensive care tomorrow, what would you do? Would you use: Emergency savings? A credit card? A payment plan? Money from another savings goal? A dedicated pet emergency fund? Pet insurance? There is no single correct answer, but having a plan before something happens can prevent an already emotional situation from becoming a financial crisis too. Pet Insurance vs. Saving on Your Own Some pet owners decide not to purchase insurance and instead put money into a dedicated savings account, and that can be a perfectly reasonable approach. The biggest advantage is that the money remains yours if your pet never needs expensive treatment. The biggest drawback is timing. You may intend to build a healthy veterinary emergency fund over several years, but your pet could need costly treatment long before that account is fully funded. Pet insurance transfers some of that risk to the insurer. Self-funding keeps the risk with you. For some households, the right answer may even be a combination of both: insurance for larger unexpected expenses and personal savings for deductibles, routine care and smaller veterinary bills. Consider Your Pet's Age and Health Pet insurance tends to be easiest to evaluate when a pet is young and healthy. As pets age, medical issues are more likely to develop, premiums may increase and existing conditions may already be excluded. If you are bringing home a puppy or kitten, it can be worth looking at insurance early rather than waiting until the first major health concern appears. For an older pet, the decision can be more complicated. Carefully compare the premium, exclusions and coverage that would actually be available. Do not assume that coverage is automatically a good or bad deal based on age alone. Ask Whether You Could Still Afford Care After Reimbursement Another important detail is how claims are paid. Many pet insurance plans work on a reimbursement model. You pay the veterinary bill first, submit a claim and receive reimbursement for covered expenses afterward. That means having insurance does not always eliminate the need for available cash or credit at the time of treatment. Before selecting a plan, find out: Does the insurer reimburse you or pay the veterinarian directly? How are claims submitted? How quickly are claims typically processed? What documentation will you need? Those practical details can matter tremendously during an emergency. When Pet Insurance May Be Worth Considering Pet insurance may be a good fit if: A large veterinary bill would be difficult for you to absorb. You want more flexibility when making treatment decisions. Your pet is currently young and healthy. You prefer predictable premiums over taking the full risk of a major unexpected bill. The peace of mind alone would be valuable to you. When You May Prefer Another Approach You may decide against pet insurance if: You have enough savings to comfortably handle a major veterinary expense. Your pet already has significant medical conditions that would be excluded. You would rather build your own dedicated pet emergency fund. You are comfortable assuming the financial risk yourself. The available coverage does not provide enough value for your particular situation. So, Is Pet Insurance Worth It? There really is no universal answer. For one household, paying for coverage that is rarely used may feel unnecessary. For another, one unexpected surgery or serious illness can make that same coverage feel incredibly valuable. The best approach is to think beyond the monthly premium and consider what an unexpected veterinary emergency would actually mean for your household. Ask yourself: Could I comfortably handle a major vet bill tomorrow? Would cost affect the treatment decisions I could make for my pet? Do I understand what the policy would and would not cover? Would I rather pay a predictable premium or assume the financial risk myself? If those questions leave you unsure, talking through your options with a licensed insurance professional can help. At Simco Wealth & Insurance Management , our Personal Insurance Team can help individuals and families explore a variety of insurance solutions and better understand the protection available to them. The goal is not to purchase every type of insurance available. It is to understand where your biggest financial risks are and decide which ones you are comfortable carrying on your own. Coverage, exclusions, deductibles, waiting periods and reimbursement terms vary by insurer and policy. Review policy documents carefully and speak with a licensed insurance professional regarding your specific situation.

How to Choose the Right Payroll Provider for Your Business

September 9, 2026
Choosing a payroll provider is an important business decision. Payroll touches nearly every employee, every pay period, and often connects with several other areas of your organization, including HR, benefits, timekeeping, retirement contributions, tax reporting and compliance. The right provider should do more than simply calculate wages and issue paychecks. It should help your organization operate more efficiently, reduce administrative burden, support accurate payroll processing and give your team confidence that the systems behind your workforce are working as they should. Whether you are evaluating payroll providers for the first time or reconsidering your current solution, here are several important factors to keep in mind. 1. Look Beyond the Payroll Software Technology matters, but software alone does not determine whether an employer has a good payroll experience. A strong payroll platform should make routine processes easier through features such as employee self-service, automated workflows, reporting, timekeeping integrations and access to payroll information. At the same time, employers should consider how well the technology is implemented, maintained and supported. Even a sophisticated system can create frustration if it is difficult to use, poorly configured or disconnected from the rest of the organization. When evaluating a provider, consider both the technology itself and the experience of using it day to day. 2. Understand What Support Will Actually Look Like Payroll questions are often time-sensitive. When an issue arises, employers need to know who they can contact and how quickly they can expect meaningful assistance. Before choosing a provider, ask how support is structured. Will your organization have a dedicated point of contact? Will you reach a general service queue? Who handles more complex payroll, tax or system questions? How are urgent issues escalated? The answers can tell you a great deal about what the relationship will feel like after implementation. Strong service should not begin and end with onboarding. It should continue throughout the relationship. 3. Ask How Implementation Is Handled A successful payroll experience starts with a strong implementation. Moving payroll systems can involve employee data, tax information, deductions, earning codes, direct deposit information, timekeeping rules, benefits elections and historical payroll records. If those details are not configured accurately from the beginning, problems can surface later. Ask prospective providers how they manage the transition. A thorough implementation process should include clear timelines, defined responsibilities, data review, testing and communication before your first live payroll. Employers should also understand who will oversee the implementation and whether that person remains involved through the transition. 4. Consider How Payroll Connects With the Rest of Your Business Payroll rarely operates in isolation. An employee may change benefit coverage, receive a raise, become eligible for retirement contributions, update a tax election or change work locations. Each of those changes can affect payroll. When systems are disconnected, employers may need to enter the same information in multiple places, creating more manual work and more opportunities for inconsistencies. A modern payroll solution should work effectively with the other systems and processes supporting your workforce. Depending on your organization, that may include: HR and employee records Time and attendance Benefits administration Retirement contributions Recruiting and onboarding Performance management Reporting and compliance The more connected these processes are, the easier it can be to maintain accurate information across the organization. 5. Evaluate Reporting and Visibility Payroll data can provide valuable insight into labor costs, overtime, taxes, deductions and workforce trends. Employers should be able to access that information without spending excessive time building reports manually or requesting information from their provider. Ask what standard reporting is available, how customizable reports are and whether managers can access the information they need. Good reporting should make payroll data easier to understand and more useful for business decision-making. 6. Consider Compliance Support Payroll is closely tied to tax requirements, wage and hour rules, reporting obligations and other compliance responsibilities. While employers ultimately remain responsible for their own compliance, the right payroll provider should have processes and expertise in place to help support accurate payroll administration. Ask how tax filings are handled, how regulatory changes are communicated and what resources are available when questions arise. It is also important to understand where the payroll provider's responsibilities end and where the employer's responsibilities begin. Clear expectations can help prevent confusion later. 7. Make Sure the Solution Can Grow With You The payroll system that works for your business today should also be able to support where your organization is heading. Growth can introduce more employees, additional locations, new states, different pay structures and more complex HR or benefits needs. When evaluating providers, think beyond your current headcount. Ask whether the platform and service model can accommodate additional complexity without requiring your team to rebuild processes or change providers again. A solution that can scale with your organization may provide greater consistency over time. 8. Pay Attention to the Overall Relationship Price will always be an important consideration, but it should not be the only one. A lower-cost option can become expensive if your team spends significant time correcting errors, navigating manual processes or trying to reach support. Consider the overall value of the relationship. Does the provider understand your business? Are expectations clear? Do they communicate proactively? Do they have the expertise to support the areas that matter most to your organization? Payroll is an ongoing operational function, so the quality of the partnership can matter just as much as the technology. Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Payroll Provider As you compare options, consider asking: Who will support our account after implementation? What does the implementation process look like? How does your system integrate with HR, benefits and timekeeping? How are payroll tax filings handled? What reporting capabilities are available? How are system or compliance updates communicated? What happens when we need urgent support? Can the platform support additional locations, states or employees as we grow? What services are included, and which require additional fees? How much manual work will remain for our internal team? These questions can help employers look beyond a software demonstration and better understand what the ongoing experience will actually be like. Choosing the Right Fit There is no single payroll provider that is right for every business. The best fit depends on your organization’s size, complexity, internal resources, growth plans and the level of support your team needs. The goal should be to find a provider that combines dependable technology with knowledgeable service , a thoughtful implementation process and systems that work together effectively . When payroll is supported by the right technology, people and processes, it can become a much more efficient part of running your business rather than another administrative burden.

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