Benefits Administration

Benefits administration is the end-to-end process of managing the lifecycle of an organization’s employee benefits program, from design to ongoing maintenance and evolution. It is typically managed by Human Resource (HR) teams and at its core, it involves employee benefits, open enrollment, employee communications and support, and administrative tasks. However, successful benefits administration extends beyond the basics and is supported by robust software and service.  Benefits administration solutions are intended to serve as an extension of HR teams, who can then focus on higher-value tasks. 

Benefits administration software is a technology platform that helps automate the administrative and employee engagement tasks associated with benefits administration. The software can take a holistic approach, considering data insights for optimizing plans, providing tools to help employees make more informed benefits decisions and saving HR teams time by taking on the burden of administrative tasks. 

Benefits administration software works by providing a centralized portal for benefits access for benefits administrators as well as employees. These systems automate the process of enrolling employees, managing benefits data, communicating and educating on plan details and managing integrations with benefit carriers, payroll and other third-party providers. The software also holds strong security standards, which enables safeguards against data breaches, unauthorized access and compliance risks. 

Bringing benefits access into one centralized hub is intended to help resolve some of employers’ major pain points. Key to a benefits administration system is that it reduces manual tasks leading to time savings.  It also offers tools for reporting, compliance, and cost management, functionality that helps inform an employer’s decisions around plan design, employee engagement and cost control measures. Of note, many benefits administration platforms offer integrations with HRIS, payroll, and carrier systems to automate data sharing, help ensure accurate deductions and reduce administrative errors. 

Modern benefits administration systems streamline communication between HR teams, employees and benefits providers. This then enhances the employee experience by allowing them to better connect the dots between their needs, company-sponsored benefits, health care costs and retirement savings opportunities. Additionally, this type of software often includes self-service portals, personalized plan guidance via decision support, care navigation and mobile access, empowering employees to understand, choose and use their benefits effectively.  
 

Both dedicated benefits administration companies and Human Capital Management solutions (HCMs) with benefits modules will cover the basics like initial benefits eligibility, annual enrollment and life change events. However, if you are looking for additional support and an extension of your team, you might want to consider a dedicated benefits administration company. A dedicated benefits administration company offers end-to-end support for complex tasks and compliance, employee guidance for optimal decisions and data insights to help you manage costs and optimize your benefits offerings.