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Employee Benefits Trends to Watch - October 2025

  • Writer: Team CBS
    Team CBS
  • Oct 7, 2025
  • 2 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2025

Doctor speaking with a patient about women’s health care.

Investing in Women's Health

The gender gap goes beyond pay. For decades, group benefit plans primarily reflected male needs, often with little support for menstruation, fertility, menopause, autoimmune disease, or other women’s health concerns. That’s changing.


A May 2025 survey from RBC found 75% of working women want benefits tailored to them. Employers are responding: for example, this January, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan launched a healthcare spending account, enabling employees to access more benefits, such as services that help manage menopause.


Closing the gap means rethinking benefits to reflect women’s health across all life stages. Plan sponsors can consider: fertility-related drugs, treatment, and care; expanded paramedical benefits such as prenatal/postnatal physiotherapy; and inclusive mental health resources.



Pharmacist assisting a customer with prescription medication.

GLP-1s and Weight Loss

A recent International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans survey suggests Canadian employer coverage for GLP-1 drugs may be shifting: 56% cover GLP-1s for the treatment of diabetes only (down from 66% in 2024), while 31% now cover some GLP-1s for the management of both diabetes and weight loss (up from 17%). Employers are managing significant cost implications through prior- and re-authorization, eligibility criteria, and annual limits.


Organizations should weigh the potential health benefits against the financial impact of expanding access.



What We're Reading

  1. Plan Sponsors Are Focusing on Costs and Member Feedback When Redesigning Benefits Programs

    Benefits Canada

    How employers are balancing cost management with employee feedback when making changes to benefit plan design


  2. Employers and Employees Divided on the Benefits of Remote and Hybrid Work

    Benefits Canada

    A recent survey from Cisco Systems Inc. highlights different perspectives on remote and hybrid work


  3. Why Financial Advice Matters in Group Plans

    iA Financial Group

    An overview of the advantages of offering financial advice to plan members

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