Benefits Upgrade Cost Modeler

Calculate the true employer cost of upgrading benefits — with SMB benchmarks from KFF, SHRM, and BLS by company size.

Why This Matters

Benefits are the most underused lever in a small business owner's toolkit.

Most SMB owners think about benefits as a cost. The best ones think about them as the cheapest form of compensation they can offer — because employees value benefits at significantly more than they cost the employer. A $600/month health premium has an employee-perceived value of +$1,200.

SHRM data consistently shows benefits are the #2 driver of retention, behind compensation. For businesses competing against larger employers on pay, benefits are often the differentiator that wins.

💡 Your moment: Most clients don't know what they're spending on benefits relative to industry peers — or what a benefits upgrade would actually cost vs. what it would save in turnover. You do, after running this. Showing up with that analysis earns you a seat at the benefits decision table — not just the tax filing.

Step 1 — Company Profile

Company Size

Industry

Total Employees

Average Annual Salary ($)

Used to calculate 401k match costs

Benefits Enrollment Rate (%)

SMB average: 75–82% of eligible employees enroll

Step 2 — Health Insurance

Current Monthly Premium/Employee ($)

Proposed Monthly Premium/Employee ($)

Employer Contribution (%)

SMB average employer contribution: 68–76% of premium

Step 3 — Dental & Vision

Current Monthly Cost/Employee ($)

Proposed Monthly Cost/Employee ($)

Step 4 — 401(k) Match

Current Match (%)

e.g. 3 = match 3% of salary

Proposed Match (%)

SMB median match: 3–4% of salary

Step 5 — Other Benefits

Life/Disability — Current Monthly/Employee ($)

Life/Disability — Proposed Monthly/Employee ($)

Annual Cost Increase

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Current Annual Total

—

Proposed Annual Total

—

Per-Employee/Year Increase

—

Benefits as % of Payroll

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vs. SMB Benchmarks

Benefit	Current Cost/Emp/Year	Proposed	SMB Benchmark	After Upgrade

Sources: KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2023, SHRM Employee Benefits Survey 2023, BLS National Compensation Survey, Society for Human Resource Management. SMB = employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Retention ROI

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