Why Older Employees Need Support Too
Most family-building benefit programs weren’t designed for older employees. They were designed for someone younger, someone planning ahead—not someone rebuilding suddenly after loss.
These employees are part of the workforce. They deserve support, too. Their presence in the workforce is a reminder that family forming has no age limit.
According to SHRM’s 2025 Employee Benefits Survey executive summary, 67% of employees say family‑friendly benefits are important. In most workplaces, family-building benefits tend to center around one image: a younger couple planning for a baby through IVF, adoption, or surrogacy. It’s a familiar narrative—but it’s far from the only one.
In today’s multi-generational workforce, the definition of “family-building” is expanding. More employees in their 50s, 60s, and beyond are stepping in to raise grandchildren, adopt relatives, or support adult children through complex family circumstances. These are family-building journeys, too—rooted in sacrifice, grief, love, and resilience.
Why do benefits packages rarely reflect that?
A Grandparent’s Journey You Didn’t See Coming
An employee in her late 50s walks into HR, heartbroken. Her daughter passed away suddenly, leaving behind two grandchildren overseas. Now, she and her husband—on the cusp of retirement—are navigating an international kinship adoption they never planned for.
The grief is heavy. The process is complex. And the costs are staggering.
This is family-building, too.
It doesn’t look like fertility treatments. It looks like love through crisis. It looks like legal guardianship, immigration hurdles, trauma-informed parenting, and financial strain during what was supposed to be their golden years. And it’s happening in your workforce more often than you think.
With Vesta, they found a path forward.
Support came not just in dollars—but in clarity, compassion, and step-by-step guidance that turned chaos into an actionable plan. They are grateful for her employer, not just for a paycheck, but for a workplace that saw her whole life and stepped up when it mattered most.
Why This Story Matters for HR Leaders
Today’s employees expect benefits that reflect total well-being, not just traditional checkboxes like health insurance and PTO. And that expectation spans every generation.
The reality is:
- Employees of all ages are raising children.
- Caregiving is not just a Millennial issue.
- Kinship, stepfamilies, and guardianship are common—and complex.
- Financial stress affects older employees just as much as younger ones.
As employees live and work longer, HR must rethink benefit design to meet the full spectrum of family needs—especially the ones that don’t fit neatly into a typical “benefits box.”
What Inclusive Family-Building Support Looks Like
True inclusivity means moving beyond assumptions.
At Vesta, we help employers provide equitable, affordable, and inclusive family-building benefits for every employee:
- Adopting as a grandparent
- Supporting a foster child
- Navigating legal adoption for a relative
- Pursuing donor conception later in life
Because family-building is not about age—it’s about love, commitment, and courage.
And in today’s workplace, benefits should reflect that. If benefits don’t reflect the diversity of family paths—and the full life stage of a workforce—employees are being left behind.
It’s time to meet employees where they are, and walk with them through every chapter.