Professional Development
General Session: How to “Sell Your Story” as a benefits professional: Making the business case to upper management. CEB senior leaders will share their experience in this panel discussion moderated by WTW.
Keynote Speaker Workshops: Creativity for Problem Solving and Innovation
Health, Pharmacy and Wellbeing
Health Workshop: Striving for Health Equity, Access and Affordability—Social determinants of health and inadequate access to quality, affordable care lead to decisions adversely impacting both patient and organizational outcomes. Meanwhile, healthcare costs continue to rise at an unsustainable pace, with projected annual trend approaching 10% for the next three years. Benefits leaders are seeking sustainable solutions that enable them to support both their workforce and the bottom line. In this session, we will discuss strategies for implementing and measuring effective programs and technology solutions to improve access to and utilization of quality, affordable healthcare
Pharmacy Workshop: Tackling Pharmacy Benefits Management Challenges—GLP-1s trends and strategies, increased fiduciary scrutiny, different PBM contracting approaches relative to transparency, and the “Big 3” PBMs in the news. We will discuss these issues and more as the world of pharmacy benefits becomes increasingly complex.
Wellbeing Workshop: We’re running hard—Are we getting anywhere? A Deep Dive on Total Wellbeing—Issues related to stress and burnout continue to erode wellbeing, resiliency, trust, and employee engagement while concerns around attracting and retaining talent are at an all-time high. What have we learned about building workforce resilience? How about the impact of culture and leader influence on talent and wellbeing (including healthcare costs)? How is AI being used to support wellbeing? This session will discuss data and market trends around generational characteristics and the connection between culture, employee behavior, organizational risk, and outcomes.
Health Rapid Session: Women’s Health and Wellbeing—During this workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about and discuss wellbeing hot topics relevant to women. We’ll address current inequities and cover a broad range of health and wellbeing issues across the female life cycle that are preventing organizations from meeting their DEIB objectives and individuals from thriving. You’ll have the opportunity to share how your organization is responding and adapting your benefits and policies to support women in the workplace and help them overcome barriers to total wellbeing.
Health Rapid Session: The Employers’ Caregiving Era—Caregiving support has emerged as a major component of an employee’s benefits package. Big tech led the way with comprehensive offerings for caregivers in their workforces, and now various other industries are following suit. The scope of caregiving support has also expanded dramatically, pushing the boundaries of what “care” means in the workplace. By addressing the full spectrum of caregiving needs—from childcare to elder care—employers can create a more supportive workforce all while contributing to the company’s bottom line. After all, sometimes it takes a village—or at least a really good HR department. This session will review the benefits currently offered to caregivers and the ways those benefits can improve.
Health Rapid Session: Building an Advanced Strategy to Manage High-Cost Claimants—High-cost claimants are a key contributor to rising healthcare costs due to the increasing prevalence and severity of chronic conditions, high-acuity medical conditions that include new high cost injectables and gene and cell therapies, and more prolonged hospital stays. This session will explore how to better manage high-cost claimants by discussing ways to predict risk, improve budget accuracy, target clinical management and interventions, and steer towards high quality, cost-effective care.
Health Rapid Session: Building a Supportive Framework for Managing Cancer Care—Cancer is one of the top healthcare cost drivers for employers, and both the number of patients and cost of treatment are on the rise. Let’s delve into innovative strategies and frameworks revolutionizing cancer management. Topics will include program and benefits design, strategies for targeting better health outcomes, analytics, navigation, inclusion of families and dependent care, and the connection to leave programs.
Retirement
Retirement Benefits Roundtable Workshop—This discussion will start with employers sharing recent retirement plan initiatives and lessons learned. From there the focus will shift to current trends and issues. Learn from your peers on a full array of topics from financial wellness to fiduciary and governance best practices; SECURE 2.0 and the new opportunities to support student loan debt payoff and emergency savings; or inclusiveness and accessibility in retirement plans.
Global Benefits
Global Benefits Workshop: Effective Global Benefits Management and Governance 2.0—You know that getting global employee benefits right is critical to supporting the diverse needs of your business and talent worldwide, but you’re working against a backdrop of rising costs, business uncertainty, regulatory and marketplace change, interest in AI, and increasing pressure from employees for improved employer-sponsored benefits. We’ll examine best practices in global benefits management and governance and discuss what effective global benefits management and governance looks like—across design, financials, employee engagement, AI, operational efficiency, and strategic alignment.
Leave and Disability
Leave and Disability Workshop: Optimizing Leave and Disability Administration—Employers are under increasing pressure to enhance the employee experience while minimizing the administrative burden associated with managing disability and leave programs. To meet these challenges, many are evaluating their internal processes, external vendors, and technology partners to create a more efficient and effective service model. This session will explore how employers are assessing their disability and leave programs, including partnerships with vendors/technology, as well as internal resources to streamline the service model and measure ongoing program success.
Employee Experience
Employee Experience Workshop: How Cutting-Edge Communication Strategies are Transforming the Employee Experience—This session will explore real-world case studies and best practices, highlighting how AI is enhancing the way employees and their families interact with benefits information. We’ll also dive into 2025’s top employee engagement trends—like personalization and proactive communication—and uncover actionable insights to help your organization stay ahead in an evolving workplace.