New data from over 550,000 employee claims shows Lifestyle Spending Accounts are proving the most effective response
Espresa, the leading global personal benefits platform used by companies including Samsung, Nielsen, and MaineHealth, announced its 2026 Lifestyle Spending Account Benchmark and Trends Report, the company’s largest comprehensive analysis of benefits utilization—drawn from over 550,000 verified employee claims across 100+ countries and $547 million in managed funds. Building on earlier benchmarks, this report represents Espresa’s first fully robust, comprehensive analysis of benefits utilization.
Rising benefit costs, which ranked sixth among employer concerns in 2021, are now the number one concern, with 64% of employers reporting significant budget strain. In the past year, 59% of employees delayed medical care due to cost, and 45% report feeling financially stretched by healthcare and prescription costs. Meanwhile, one in four say GLP-1 access directly affects how they perceive their employer’s benefits. Employer GLP-1 spend doubled in a single year, from $11 to $24 per member per month, and GLP-1s now represent 10.5% of all prescription drug claims, up from 6.9% in 2023.
“Rising benefit costs, especially for specialty drugs like GLP-1s, place a massive strain between HR teams who want to retain top talent and finance teams focused on the bottom line,” said Alex Shubat, co-founder and CEO of Espresa. “The answer isn’t to cut benefits, as we’ve seen many companies do, it’s to make every dollar work harder by giving employees the flexibility to spend on what actually matters to them.”
Rather than cutting benefits, 57% of employers say they plan to rebalance and reallocate their existing benefits budgets over the next three years, according to the report. Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSA) have emerged as a viable option for that reallocation. Espresa clients added nearly $250 million in new LSA funding in the past year alone, a 45% jump, as eligible employee populations grew nearly 50% between 2024 and 2025. Furthermore, 95% of organizations reported improved employee retention after implementing LSAs, with nearly 20% median improvement in retention rates. Globally, the platform’s international client base grew 30%, with Brazil’s Marketplace adoption growing 5x and the UK becoming the second-largest non-US adopter.
The report delves into how employees spend when given a choice. Tax preparation, financial planning, and hobby classes rank among the top 20 most popular LSA purchases alongside fitness and wellness. The report also reveals the true needs of benefits flexibility, defined by both the eligible expenses employees use and the design levers employers use to administer them. Even with the average LSA wallet funding dipping slightly, participation still increased when employers reinforced their programs with unique expenses, reimbursement options, or plan designs.
“During my 30+ year career in benefits, it seems we always had the same group of employees participating in our wellness programs,” said Jackie Good, Global Wellbeing Manager, Nielsen. “By implementing Espresa’s LSA options, we drove significant results, increasing our employees’ participation YOY and, most importantly, attracting and engaging a much more diverse group of employees.”
The 2026 Lifestyle Spending Account Benchmark and Trends Report is available now at https://www.espresa.com/benchmark-trends-reports-2026/.
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