As the employee benefits landscape evolves, health insurance brokers must serve as a business strategy consultant and understand how to deliver health benefits solutions tailored to each client’s unique business needs. The defined contribution model has emerged as a powerful strategy, giving health benefits brokers a flexible option that can be customized based on clients’ budgets, as well as recruitment, retention, and employee satisfaction goals. This approach empowers employees to choose benefits that fit their needs, enhancing satisfaction while streamlining administrative processes for business leaders and HR teams.
This blog post explores four key opportunities brokers can tap into this enrollment season by leveraging the defined contribution model—specifically through Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). These strategies help brokers truly partner with their clients and deliver more flexible health benefits solutions, elevate client offerings, and strengthen their competitive position in the marketplace.
Opportunity #1: Help Clients Take Control of Their Benefits Budget
As premiums continue to climb, employer group benefits brokers who introduce cost-conscious clients to defined contribution health benefit models, like ICHRAs, have an edge. Unlike traditional group health plans, ICHRAs help solve one of your clients’ biggest pain points and position you as a long-term strategic partner.
When employers across the country face another year of double-digit premium hikes, brokers should be prepared to step in with a better option: an ICHRA. With defined contribution health benefits, like ICHRAs, brokers can help clients:
Set and stick to a benefits budget that’s aligned with the company’s current and long-term financial goals. Through this model, employers offer their employees a set monthly dollar amount, known as a defined contribution, and the employees use these funds to buy individual coverage that best fits their needs. Unlike traditional group health plans, defined contribution health benefits are immune to employee claims and market changes. Employers know exactly how much they will spend on health benefits each month—and this adds up to an attractive cost control option for employee benefits..
Leverage off-exchange plans to maximize value. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reports median rate increases of 18% or more for ACA Marketplace plans in 2026, partly due to the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits. As costs rise, healthier, unsubsidized individuals may turn to off-exchange options, allowing employers’ contributions to stretch further.
According to healthinsurance.org, in 2025, most states and insurers continue to use the ‘Silver switch,’ making off-exchange Silver plans cheaper than on-exchange plans for those without premium subsidies—a strategy that protects the most consumers. This could extend to 2026.
Remove employees’ health history and age as a barrier. Group health plan costs are heavily influenced by a company’s demographics and claims experience, meaning just a few unhealthy employees can drive premiums up for everyone. By contrast, individual plans are community-rated, so pricing isn’t based on medical history—only age, location, and tobacco use. Employers with higher risk and less-healthy workforces often find the individual market a more affordable solution.
Defined contribution health benefits not only protect your existing clients from rate increases, but can also win you new groups who are frustrated with the renewal treadmill of traditional group health insurance. In some cases, a traditional group health plan may work well for one segment of employees, but not another. In cases like this, a hybrid approach can be the answer, offering defined contribution health benefits, like ICHRAs, to one class of employees and a traditional group plan to another. (Learn more about the 11 employee classes below.)
Opportunity #2: Create Your Clients’ Secret Weapon for Attracting Top Talent
In today’s competitive labor market, health benefits remain one of the most important factors job seekers consider when evaluating potential employers. However, traditional group health plans are costly, inflexible, and often limit employers’ ability to attract diverse talent—especially in multi-state or remote workforces.
ICHRAs are a strategic solution that brokers can leverage to help employers stand out when it comes to recruiting top talent. ICHRAs strengthen clients’ recruiting power by making it possible to:
Adapt to varying employee demographics. Younger workers may prioritize affordability and network flexibility, while employees with families value comprehensive coverage. ICHRAs empower employees to choose what matters most to them—without forcing the employer to pick a single plan design. A hybrid model is also an option. Employers can offer one class of employees (as defined below) ICHRA health benefits and another class a traditional group plan.
Offer solutions that scale with geographically diverse and remote workforces. For employers hiring across multiple states or managing remote teams, ICHRAs eliminate network and carrier limitations. No matter where an employee lives, they can access coverage, making it easier to recruit nationally.
Level the playing field for small to mid-sized employers. Cost control, made possible by the defined contribution model, allows small and mid-sized businesses to provide health benefits they might otherwise struggle to afford—an immediate advantage in talent acquisition.
Deploy creative segmentation strategies. Employers can choose who’s eligible for the ICHRA (and for a defined contribution) using the 11 employee classes listed below. This gives your clients the flexibility to offer tailored contribution amounts to different employee classes — supporting their recruiting efforts.
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- Full-time employees
- Part-time employees
- Seasonal employees
- Salaried employees
- Non-salaried employees (such as hourly)
- Employees covered by a particular collective bargaining arrangement (different bargaining units can be separate classes)
- Employees who have not satisfied a waiting period
- Temporary employees of staffing firms
- Non-resident aliens with no US-based income
- Employees working in the same insurance rating area (geographic location, state, or region)
- Any combination of two or more of the above
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ICHRAs aren’t just a financial tool—they’re a recruiting advantage. By reframing the conversation around talent strategy, brokers can create more value for clients and strengthen long-term relationships.
Opportunity #3: Help Clients Boost Employee Satisfaction and Retention
In addition to playing a key role in your clients’ recruiting efforts, ICHRA health benefits improve overall employee satisfaction, boost morale, and strengthen loyalty—ultimately improving retention and creating a more engaged and stable workforce.
Brokers can help clients delight employees, increasing engagement and productivity, and improve their bottom line by reducing turnover through:
Personalized benefits. With ICHRAs, employees choose the individual plan that best fits their personal or family needs—rather than being forced into a one-size-fits-all group plan. This flexibility resonates with candidates who value choice and personalization. Research shows this is what today’s employees want: according to Aon’s 2025 Global Benefits Trends Study, 65% of employees prefer personalized benefits over their current offerings.
More efficient spending. ICHRAs put employees in the driver’s seat, letting them choose coverage that fits their needs and budget. When employees control how their benefits dollars are spent, they make smarter, more cost-conscious decisions—helping employers get the most value from every dollar.
Coverage that fits every family member. With ICHRAs, each member of an employee’s household—spouses, dependents, and employees—can choose the individual plan that best meets their needs, rather than being locked into the same coverage. For example, an employee and her husband may select a plan with a strong local provider network, while their son, away at college, can choose a different plan that gives him access to care where he lives. ICHRAs make this flexibility possible, giving brokers a powerful way to showcase customized solutions.
Personalized plans, smarter spending, and flexible family coverage make employees happier and loyalty stronger—positioning employee benefits brokers as strategic partners in workforce satisfaction and retention.
Opportunity #4: Save Your Clients’ Time Through Simplified Benefits Administration
ICHRAs make benefits administration easier for your clients, cutting paperwork and freeing up time to focus on business priorities. Brokers can step in as strategic partners, guiding contributions, ensuring compliance, and helping clients streamline processes—turning a complex task into a simple, efficient health benefits solution.
ICHRA health benefits reduce administrative burden by:
Shifting administrative tasks to employees. With ICHRAs, employees purchase their own individual plans. This means the employer no longer has to manage plan design, network issues, or claims administration for a multitude of employees and families.
Automating contributions. Employers’ defined contributions can be payroll-deducted and managed efficiently. With the support of a benefits partner like Nexben, brokers can advise on best practices for setting up and overseeing these contributions.
Streamlining compliance. Brokers help clients ensure ICHRA compliance with IRS and ACA regulations, so employers don’t have to navigate the complex rules alone.
Eliminating exposure to employees’ private health information. By switching to ICHRAs, employers can step away from managing employees’ private health information. Since employees purchase individual plans directly on the market, employers no longer handle claims, medical records, or sensitive health data. This not only reduces administrative burden but also protects employee privacy and minimizes potential compliance risks.
By leveraging ICHRAs, brokers help clients save time, reduce administrative headaches, and eliminate the need to manage employees’ private health information—freeing up time for strategic priorities. Simplifying benefits administration positions brokers as valuable partners in delivering efficient, compliant, and employee-focused health benefits.
In today’s competitive labor market, health benefits remain one of the most important factors job seekers consider when evaluating potential employers. However, traditional group health plans are costly, inflexible, and often limit employers’ ability to attract diverse talent—especially in multi-state or remote workforces.
ICHRAs are a strategic solution that brokers can leverage to help employers stand out when it comes to recruiting top talent. ICHRAs strengthen clients’ recruiting power by making it possible to:
Adapt to varying employee demographics. Younger workers may prioritize affordability and network flexibility, while employees with families value comprehensive coverage. ICHRAs empower employees to choose what matters most to them—without forcing the employer to pick a single plan design. A hybrid model is also an option. Employers can offer one class of employees (as defined below) ICHRA health benefits and another class a traditional group plan.
Offer solutions that scale with geographically diverse and remote workforces. For employers hiring across multiple states or managing remote teams, ICHRAs eliminate network and carrier limitations. No matter where an employee lives, they can access coverage, making it easier to recruit nationally.
Level the playing field for small to mid-sized employers. Cost control, made possible by the defined contribution model, allows small and mid-sized businesses to provide health benefits they might otherwise struggle to afford—an immediate advantage in talent acquisition.
Deploy creative segmentation strategies. Employers can choose who’s eligible for the ICHRA (and for a defined contribution) using the 11 employee classes listed below. This gives your clients the flexibility to offer tailored contribution amounts to different employee classes — supporting their recruiting efforts.
-
-
-
-
- Full-time employees
- Part-time employees
- Seasonal employees
- Salaried employees
- Non-salaried employees (such as hourly)
- Employees covered by a particular collective bargaining arrangement (different bargaining units can be separate classes)
- Employees who have not satisfied a waiting period
- Temporary employees of staffing firms
- Non-resident aliens with no US-based income
- Employees working in the same insurance rating area (geographic location, state, or region)
- Any combination of two or more of the above
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-
-
ICHRAs aren’t just a financial tool—they’re a recruiting advantage. By reframing the conversation around talent strategy, brokers can create more value for clients and strengthen long-term relationships.
Be the Strategic Partner Your Clients Need this Enrollment Season
As the 2026 benefits landscape continues to evolve, brokers who embrace ICHRAs and defined contribution models can deliver real strategic value to their clients. By partnering with companies like Nexben, brokers gain access to tools, guidance, and compliance expertise that make implementing these solutions seamless. This collaboration allows brokers to help employers control costs, attract and retain top talent, enhance employee satisfaction, and simplify benefits administration—all while positioning themselves as trusted, forward-thinking advisors. With the right partners and strategies in place, brokers can turn complex challenges into opportunities for growth and long-term client success.
About Nexben
Nexben is a utility hub that makes defined contribution health benefits simple, seamless, and powerful. Connect with us to learn how partnering with Nexben can help you deliver smarter, more cost-saving employee group benefits solutions to your clients this open enrollment season.