How top financial services firms are rethinking fertility and maternity care

When it comes to reproductive health, financial services employees are increasingly looking to their employers for access and support. According to recent employee insight surveys, 31% of employees say that support for preparing to have a family is their most important benefit, and more than half want their employer to advocate for continued access to comprehensive reproductive health services. 

At the same time, benefits leaders are feeling mounting pressure to keep costs down without sacrificing care quality. From legal changes—like California’s push to mandate IVF and IUI coverage—to extremely competitive talent markets, an ever-evolving landscape is pushing financial services companies to act. 

Despite growing demand and awareness, many organizations still fall short in their women’s and family benefits offerings. While many financial services companies offer some basic reproductive support, few are delivering best-in-class, high-impact solutions that offer seamless support before, during, and after fertility treatments and pregnancy. 

The state of fertility and maternity benefits in financial services today

As the way we build families is evolving, so are employee expectations. In recent years, demand for fertility support in workplace benefits has increased, with 69% of employees taking or considering a new job because of better reproductive and family health benefits. 

Across the board, employers are responding to this growing demand, with 58% of companies planning to enhance or add fertility benefits in the next year and 61% planning to add preconception care. Preconception and fertility support can help mitigate rising benefits costs for employers by equipping employees with the resources they need to better understand their fertility. By doing so, many employees avoid expensive fertility treatments altogether.

Benefits leaders know the importance of offering more robust reproductive and family benefits to attract and retain top talent. 84% say these benefits are important or very important for attracting employees, and 85% say they’re important or very important for retention. 

Cultural and legal shifts are also shaping benefits strategies. With the majority of financial services companies adopting a hybrid work model, this shift to in-person work can cause additional burdens for working parents and those navigating reproductive health challenges. In increasingly in-office or hybrid workplaces, virtual healthcare access becomes even more crucial, with 72% of employees reporting that access to virtual support makes it easier for them to work in-person. 

What should fertility and maternity benefits actually include?

Fertility benefits refer to the range of services and support employers offer through their health insurance plans and supplemental benefits to help employees navigate family building and infertility. Maternity benefits, on the other hand, start when an employee (or their partner) is pregnant, and this support continues through the first year of the baby’s life. 

Defining the scope of benefits

At its most basic, fertility coverage might mean limited insurance coverage or financial-only assistance to cover the cost of select fertility treatments for employees with an infertility diagnosis. However, these plans often limit coverage and exclude certain procedures and populations altogether, leaving employees to shoulder high out-of-pocket costs and emotional stress. A recent study found three in four employees experience financial strain when navigating fertility, with one third of women spending more than $50,000 on their fertility journeys.  Many plans also still require a diagnosis of infertility for employees to be eligible for this limited support, which results in LGBTQIA+ couples, single parents, and those with unexplained infertility being excluded from care. 

Comprehensive fertility coverage goes much further, combining clinical, emotional, and financial care to support employees at every stage of their fertility journey. This holistic support includes coverage for preconception care, assisted reproductive technology (ART) like IVF and IUI, egg freezing, sperm donation, surrogacy, adoption support, and genetic counseling. Employees can meet with reproductive specialists, fertility awareness educators, and mental health professionals throughout the entire process while also receiving financial guidance and reimbursement support.  

Similarly, comprehensive maternity support encompasses more than just paid parental leave when the baby is born. Maternity coverage and parental support should seamlessly flow from fertility support, and include prenatal/postnatal care, lactation support, return-to-work coaching, and mental health care, in addition to structured leave policies. This support includes schedule flexibility as employees transition back to work, educational resources, and on-demand access to expert guidance from lactation consultants, therapists, sleep coaches, and pediatricians.  

Moreover, fertility and maternity benefits need to be offered together to ensure there are no gaps in care. Many fertility benefits drop off as soon as someone gets pregnant, but the journey is just beginning at that point. When fertility and maternity benefits go hand in hand, employees have access to comprehensive, holistic support throughout their entire family building journey. 

What employees expect

As fertility coverage and parental support become core components of modern employee benefits, employees expect this coverage to be more comprehensive and accessible. Working parents or parents-to-be need virtual, 24/7 access to fertility and maternity support in order to manage busy schedules and in-office requirements. Moreover, employees are increasingly used to a certain caliber of digital experience, so the platform must be engaging and easy to navigate in addition to being accessible.

While 12 in 100 US couples require infertility treatment to achieve pregnancy, the need for fertility support extends far beyond heterosexual couples. To support all paths to parenthood, fertility and maternity coverage must include LGBTQIA+ employees and single parents, and non-birthing parents should also have access to support and resources. Care continuity is important to provide a connected, comprehensive experience from fertility and preconception to postpartum and parenthood.

Where typical benefit plans fall short

Even if your health insurance plan includes benefits support, it’s likely fragmented or incomplete. When employees need to navigate multiple different vendors for different parts of their fertility journey, it can be exhausting, and most traditional health plans leave employees to bear the brunt of a difficult administrative load. Additionally, most insurance plans don’t offer maternity and parental support in the ways employees actually need it, like when a pregnant employee has an urgent question in the middle of the night or needs specialist support from doulas or lactation consultants in addition to the pediatrician. 

With limited appointment availability and a lack of comprehensive support, people are experiencing worse outcomes during pregnancy—including more NICU admissions and higher C-section rates—which can be reduced with better, more holistic care. These outcomes are costly for companies too, resulting in higher healthcare costs. Without comprehensive and proactive support, many employees undergo unnecessary fertility treatments, which also increase business costs.   

This inadequate support comes at an additional cost for businesses, too. Since fertility challenges are emotionally taxing, employee productivity and retention can dip when they don’t have sufficient support through these difficult times. Without appropriate benefits, employees are more likely to experience stress, burnout, and disengagement. 91% of people with fertility challenges say it impacted their mental health, and 44% of women have turned down promotions, raises or new job opportunities due to fertility treatment schedules or concerns about future family planning.

Defining best-in-class fertility and maternity support

Today’s leading fertility and maternity benefits go far beyond insurance coverage or one-size-fits-all solutions. They provide comprehensive, inclusive, and easy-to-access care that supports financial services employees emotionally, physically, and financially throughout every stage of their family-building journey. 

The value of an end-to-end platform

A true end-to-end healthcare platform uses just one technology stack across a continuum of needs, providing a one-stop-shop for employees at any point in their fertility and parenting journeys. Integrated platforms like Maven provide one consolidated solution for every family-building milestone. 

Maven's healthcare platform unifies medical care, data, AI analysis, and payments in one easy-to-use system, delivering personalized support that improves health outcomes—not just referring services like others do. We also unify clinical data, care history, and benefit information so employees’ care isn’t fragmented across disconnected systems. One platform avoids challenges like record duplication, access confusion, and gaps in care, but vendor consolidation helps more than just employees by reducing the workload and management overhead for HR. 

Why personalization and evidence-based care matter

Maven delivers comprehensive clinical, emotional, and financial support across the entire reproductive and family health journey. The platform is designed to integrate with employer benefit offerings, provide flexible care options, and support diverse family-building paths.

Through a seamless digital experience, Maven connects members to specialized care and curated resources tailored to their unique needs—from early preconception care to postpartum recovery to menopause, and every step in between. This personalized model ensures that members receive timely, coordinated support that bridges gaps left by traditional in-person systems

Maven sets the standard for evidence-based maternity care. Across claims-based studies, including analyses with multiple Fortune 500 companies, Maven has demonstrated meaningful ROI:

• 2:1 clinical ROI through reductions in NICU admissions, C-sections, ED visits, and untreated mental health conditions
• 4:1 clinical + business ROI when factoring in business outcomes such as improved return-to-work rates, reduced attrition, and greater productivity
• Up to $5,000 in savings per Maven member, supported by Milliman’s independent analysis and over 15 peer-reviewed studies.

Real-world example from Deutsche Bank

Financial services leader Deutsche Bank has worked with Maven since 2024. In that time, they’ve had over 600 employees sign up for Maven, 27% of whom are male, and over 110 interactions per member. Nearly half of all scheduled appointments take place outside of business hours, underscoring the importance of digital solutions for flexibility. Since working with Maven, Deutsche has seen 2.6x business and clinical ROI, underscoring the financial impact that Maven can have on financial services organizations.

“I would 100% recommend Maven to other benefits leaders," says Jackie McNeil, Head of Benefits for the Americas at Deutsche Bank. “If you’re looking for a partner that is specialized in women’s and family health and provides value to your employees by helping them navigate the complexities of starting and raising a family, Maven is best in class.”

How to evaluate a fertility and maternity benefits vendor

The right fertility benefits partner should offer clinical credibility, inclusive support, financial transparency, and global scalability. Here are some questions to ask to choose the right benefits partner for your organization.

Five key questions to ask

1. Is the platform truly end-to-end and personalized?

Facing inequitable medical care and increased employee demand for comprehensive support, companies are looking for a vendor who can offer personalized care to global employees that leave no gaps in access. Focusing on one end-to-end solution also minimizes administrative burden on HR leaders.

2. What outcomes do you track and share? How do you measure ROI?

With many companies operating on a tight budget, proving ROI through improved health and business outcomes is of tantamount importance. Prioritize vendors who offer a clinically-validated care model that is shown to tangibly impact key health measures, like reducing the need for fertility treatment or lowering NICU admissions. 

3. How do you drive engagement on the platform?

Make sure the platform is intuitive and accessible for both employees and HR leaders. A good benefits platform is simple to navigate, with user-friendly design and navigation flows.

4. Do you have measures in place to manage costs?

Look for a vendor who can help control costs through improved outcomes and aligned incentives. For example, a benefits vendor that offers robust trying-to-conceive coaching can help lower the number of employees who need to seek expensive fertility treatments. 

5. Does their platform connect virtual and in-person care?

Partner with a company that offers an intuitive digital platform that seamlessly connects employees to in-person care when relevant. Key features to look for include robust financial management tools, 24/7 access to care, and user-friendly navigation and design.

The business case: Impact of better fertility and maternity benefits

Offering comprehensive fertility and maternity coverage is about more than employee engagement and productivity; it’s also proven to be good for business. Companies that invest in Maven see 2-4x clinical and business savings, supporting employee retention, productivity, and the company’s bottom line. 

Productivity and retention outcomes

When employees feel supported, they are more productive at work and more likely to stay with their employer. Among Maven fertility users, 83% report being more productive, and 70% of Maven maternity users say the same. 

Employees are also more likely to return to work after parental leave when their company supports parents well. 84% of these organizations have seen most of all of their employees return to work after parental leave. More productive employees are less likely to be burnt out, and more loyal employees are more likely to have higher tenure.

Hard cost savings

The clinical outcomes also speak for themselves. Maven users see up to 27% lower NICU rates, 15% lower C-section rate, and reduced emergency visits due to personalized care and early interventions when needed. Employees may also be able to avoid fertility treatments altogether, with 30% of Maven Fertility members achieving pregnancy without treatment. These statistics translate to real claims savings of up to $5,000 per member.

What’s next for benefits leaders in financial services

Fertility and maternity benefits are no longer optional for employers—they’re a strategic lever that can be used to attract and retain top talent. If you’re looking to simplify operations, deliver better outcomes for your employees, and lower costs, Maven can help. Explore how leading financial services companies are raising the bar with Maven—book a demo today.