Business Insurance Health Releases Benefits ROI Calculator With Cited Outputs From Nine Research Institutions

Six-step calculator benchmarks 42 employee benefits against data from KFF, SHRM, BLS, Mercer, and other sources to estimate benefits ROI for employers

Mar. 19, 2026 at 6:39am

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Business Insurance Health has released a free Benefits ROI Calculator designed to help small and mid-size employers estimate the financial return on their employee benefits spending using data cited from nine institutional research sources. The tool walks users through a six-step process that captures company profile, benefits selections, turnover dynamics, and PEO considerations, then outputs estimated ROI figures with hover-over citations on each data point.

Why it matters

Employee benefits costs continue to represent a significant and growing share of total compensation for U.S. employers. According to KFF's 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey, annual family health insurance premiums reached approximately $25,572, with employers covering an average of 73 percent. SHRM's 2024 Employee Benefits Survey found that benefits administration remains among the top operational challenges for small employers, particularly those with fewer than 200 employees. At the same time, a 2024 Mercer survey reported that U.S. employers projected health benefit cost increases of approximately 5.8 percent for the year, adding pressure to already constrained budgets. These trends have increased employer interest in tools that can model benefits-related costs and estimated returns.

The details

The six-step process covers company profile, benefits selection across 42 options, turnover dynamics, PEO analysis, scenario modeling with three toggles, and time-based projections — each output cited to institutional research. Estimated employee satisfaction benchmarks shown by benefits tier, with ranges derived from SHRM Employee Benefits Survey and Mercer Health Trends research. Sample output from the Benefits ROI Calculator showing estimated gross value of $147K, PEO investment of $87K, net value of $60K, and estimated ROI of 69 percent for a 50-person manufacturer under the base case scenario.

  • The Benefits ROI Calculator was released on March 19, 2026.

The players

Business Insurance Health

A Boston-based independent benefits consulting firm that has released the free Benefits ROI Calculator.

Sam Newland, CFP

The founder of PEO4YOU and Business Insurance Health, who provided commentary on the calculator.

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What they’re saying

“Benefits spending is one of the largest employer line items, but many lack a structured way to estimate what it returns. This calculator provides that framework using cited institutional data.”

— Sam Newland, CFP, Founder, PEO4YOU

What’s next

The Benefits ROI Calculator is available for free on the Business Insurance Health website.

The takeaway

The Benefits ROI Calculator provides small and mid-size employers with a structured framework to estimate the financial return on their employee benefits spending, using data cited from nine institutional research sources. This can help employers make more informed decisions about their benefits offerings and investments.