Why education alone won’t help employees make better benefits decisions and what employers can do instead. 

HR leaders are telling us the same thing: they’re communicating benefits more than ever, but employee understanding still isn’t keeping pace. 

Built-in literacy benchmarks in Benefitsolver^® confirms what many teams already suspect: Employees know they have benefits, but they don’t always know how those benefits work, when to use them, or how to make confident decisions when it matters most. 

• Employees in financial services are four times more likely than employees in education to feel fully prepared for a large expense.  
• Employees in the software industry score 59% on benefits literacy, compared with just 29% in retail.  

The gaps are significant, and generating more flyers for the breakroom isn’t the fix.  

Annual enrollment puts benefits understanding under a spotlight, but the challenge continues throughout the year. So here are the bigger questions:  

• What if employees didn’t have to memorize the definition of “deductible” to choose the right plan?
• What if they didn’t have to keep FSA deadlines in their heads?
• What if they could confidently use the benefits they already have without first becoming benefits experts?

If you’re on the front lines of benefits communications, you’re probably already nodding. 

We know from our own data that benefits literacy varies widely by industry, income, and education level. That means “more education” cannot be the only answer. The real opportunity is creating a benefits experience that gives every employee a clearer, more accessible path to understanding and using the benefits available to them.  

Great communications, thoughtful education, and the ability to measure what’s working are still foundational. Employees need to know resources exist. 

But if your strategy is “spray and pray” with 283 emails, 23 text messages, and maybe a little skywriting outside the warehouse, without knowing whether those messages changed behavior, you may be pouring energy into the wrong channels. 

What is the difference between benefits literacy and benefits equity? 

It’s time for benefits equity. 

Benefits literacy focuses on what employees know. 

Benefits equity focuses on whether employees can successfully use what they know. 

Benefits equity says: 

“We’ll meet you where you are and help you navigate benefits in a way that works for your life, your circumstances, and your level of benefits experience.” 

Benefits equity says: 

“You shouldn’t miss savings opportunities, deadlines, support resources, or important coverage simply because the process was confusing.” 

Benefits equity says: 

“The experience should make it easier, not harder, to care for yourself and the people who depend on you.” 

Employees don’t experience life in benefit categories. They don’t wake up thinking about deductibles, indemnity plans, contribution limits, or enrollment workflows. 

They think about welcoming a child. Managing a diagnosis. Caring for a parent. Preparing for retirement. Paying an unexpected bill. Figuring out what comes next. 

Benefits equity means designing experiences around those moments, not expecting employees to translate their lives into benefits terminology first. This is where anticipation becomes so important. 

An equitable benefits experience recognizes context, surfaces what matters, and helps people take action before confusion turns into inaction. That’s the difference between simply providing information and providing confidence.

What does benefits equity look like in practice? 

Benefits equity can sound ambitious, but it becomes achievable when communications, guidance, service, data, and technology work together. 

Imagine an experience that can: 

Surface the most relevant next step  

Instead of showing every employee the same information, the experience highlights the tasks, resources, and next steps most relevant to that person’s benefits journey. 

• Need to provide dependent verification documents? Here’s your task and a simple path to complete it. 
• Have an unresolved FSA claim? Here’s what is still needed. 

Recently experienced a significant healthcare event? Here are related benefits and support resources you may want to review. 

Deliver communications based on timing and need 

Instead of sending the same message to everyone, communications adapt based on timing, available context, and individual needs. 

• You enrolled, but your Evidence of Insurability is still outstanding. 
• Your FSA card arrived, but it hasn’t been activated yet. 

You’re approaching Medicare eligibility. Here’s what to know before your next benefits decision. 

Provide intelligent benefits guidance 

With Sofia^® serving as the intelligence layer across the experience, employees can receive guidance that helps anticipate likely questions, simplify complex information, and point them toward the right next step during enrollment and throughout the year.

Connect the benefits experience

Employees shouldn’t have to figure out which portal, vendor, carrier, or point solution holds the answer they need. 

Whether they start through Benefitsolver, on mobile, through member services, or another approved experience, the goal is the same: bring the right information, guidance, and support into the moment they need it. This reduces friction, eliminates guesswork, and creates a more connected experience.

Measure employee actions, not just communication activity

Benefits leaders need visibility into what’s working and where employees still face barriers. 

That means looking beyond open rates and clicks to understand: 

• Where engagement is breaking down 
• What questions people are asking most often 
• Which communications are driving action 
• How enrollment decisions are changing over time 
• Where additional support may be needed 

These insights help benefits teams continuously improve the employee experience rather than simply increasing communication volume. 

How can employers provide relevant guidance responsibly?

Of course, relevance must come with responsibility. 

An anticipatory experience should respect privacy, protect sensitive information, and be transparent about how guidance is generated. Technology can surface context and make the next step easier, but human expertise remains essential when situations require judgment, empathy, or personalized support. That’s why the most effective benefits experiences combine intelligent technology with experienced people who can help employees navigate life’s more complicated moments.

How can employers turn benefits understanding into action?

Benefits literacy still matters. 

But literacy only creates value when employees can turn knowledge into action at the right time, in the right place, with the right support. 

That’s where benefits equity changes the conversation. 

It shifts the goal from explaining benefits better to designing experiences that help people use benefits more confidently. 

Because when employees receive relevant guidance before they need to ask, when support is easier to access, and when benefits become simpler to navigate, more people get the value their benefits were intended to provide. 

So the challenge isn’t simply asking whether employees understand their benefits. 

It’s asking whether the experience is helping them take action with confidence. 

Because when benefits work for more people, they become more than a program. 

They become a promise kept.