The percentage of employers offering healthcare benefits to employees’ dependent grandchildren is on a steep rise, doubling in the past two years, according to a recent report by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
This trend comes as 3.3% of U.S. grandparents, or 6.7 million people, live with their grandchildren, according to a U.S. Census report released earlier this year. And of this group, 32.7% of grandparents living with grandchildren under 18 are financially responsible for their care, including food, shelter, clothing and more, the report notes.
Over the past two years, U.S. employers have increasingly sought to reduce grandparent employees’ financial burden. This move is on par with employers increasingly focusing on employees’ financial wellness and the high cost of living. Amazon, for example, even went as far as creating a global financial health team in 2022 to assist its workforce.
Growing support for employees with dependent grandchildren
The IFEBP surveyed 625 employers, ranging in size from 50 to over 10,000 employees, finding that the percentage of respondents offering dependent healthcare benefit coverage for grandchildren doubled to 12% in 2024, up from 6% two years earlier.
“It is likely that plan participant requests for grandchild coverage have increased, and employers are expanding their coverage options as a result,” says Julie Stich, vice president of content for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
The rise comes as employees become more likely to vocalize the benefits that would be most meaningful to them overall. For instance, a recent Bright Horizons survey found that 78% of workers believe working parents are more comfortable discussing their family responsibilities at work today than they were a decade ago.
“Today’s working parents are more emboldened and speaking up for the benefits they want and need for themselves and their families,” Bright Horizons CEO Stephen Kramer told Human Resource Executive recently.
Meanwhile, employee expectations are driving more organizations to reimagine how they define family for the purpose of benefits, leading some to expand fertility and family-planning benefits, for instance. The same mindset is prompting some employers to recognize that covering dependents beyond the traditional definition of family or household is a way to create a more inclusive workplace, Stich says.
“Employers are recognizing that the definition of a family or household regularly expands beyond the nuclear family unit of the past,” she says.
“Including grandchildren as covered plan dependents is an impactful way to show their care and support for employees and their extended families,” Stich adds. “Comprehensive dependent coverage is also a powerful attraction and retention tool.”
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