In the latest workplace perks offered by corporations, fertility benefit programs with higher financial support are being extended to their employees. With a substantial growth in the number of people delaying parenthood due to their prime focus on their careers, this move has brought cheer to the lives of such employees.
Experts opined that such benefits help an individual take control of their career and life goals without worrying about their biological clock.
According to a recent survey report published by Avtar and Seramount’s ‘Best Companies for Women in India for 2023’, among the top 100 companies, 62% provided treatment for invitro fertilisation, 37% offered surrogacy expenses, and 23% provided egg freezing. The statistics shared by WHO also show that worldwide, about 17.5% of people experience infertility, which comes to every 1 in 6 people.
Anubhav Prashant, the COO of Apollo Fertility, says that the market for infertility treatment is growing immensely at a huge rate. The average rate of IVF cycles in India is growing at a CAGR of 15% per year. Simultaneously, the costs have also increased, which is aligned with inflation.
Nova IVF Fertility (NIF) predicts that, in the future, the number of women entering the fertile age group will eventually come down, even though there are many women in the reproductive age group. They also pointed out that the Indian fertility rate is below the replacement rate of 2.1. They also opined that about 30% of women have low ovary reserves and approximately 15% of men have a low sperm count.
Shobit Agarwal, CEO of Nova IVF Infertility, said that, on average, IVF cycles cost around 1.5 to 2 lakhs per cycle. Such beneficial measures adopted by an organisation help to attract and retain talent and improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion quotient (DEI).
Shiv Kumar, the head of HR at Merck Group, says that their new fertility benefit program offers financial support of up to Rs 10 lakh for employees who wish to undergo such treatments. Such benefits give an individual the power to decide when he or she would like to start their family. He further added that, as a part of their DEI initiative, they also offer coverage for gender reassignment surgery to the maximum limit under their group medical insurance policy. It is also extended to unmarried partners of the same and opposite sexes.
An official from the Johnson & Johnson group also informed that their company has been providing infertility coverage for both genders up to a specified amount under their employee health insurance policy for over four years now, intending to help their employees who wish to start parenthood.
Such benefit programs offered by organisations empower individuals to focus on their careers without worrying about their biological clock ticking away.
(Inputs from various sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Sushmita Ganguli)
