80% of Americans Are Stressed About Daily Expenses. Benefits Can Help.
A couple weeks ago, I was sitting down with the owner of a 60-person construction company. Good people. Blue-collar crew. They show up early, work hard, go home tired.
The owner had just gotten off a call with one of his foremen. The guy was asking about gas reimbursement—not for a job site, just for getting to work. He was trying to make ends meet until Friday’s paycheck.
That’s not uncommon anymore.
Here's the reality:
80% of Americans are stressed about daily expenses. Not big financial goals. Not unexpected medical bills. Just the everyday stuff—groceries, gas, rent, credit card minimums.
That’s a silent crisis in a lot of companies right now.
And for small and midsize employers, it’s putting you in a tough spot. Because if your people are financially stretched to the breaking point, the usual perks aren’t going to cut it. And a “market-rate” benefits package? That just means everyone’s equally frustrated.
So what do you do?
If you’re like most leaders I work with, you’re already paying a lot for healthcare. Probably more than you’d like. But if your employees still can’t afford to see a doctor…what are you really getting for it?
That disconnect is what we fix.
Our program at Kennion was built to do two things:
- Make benefits a real advantage again.
- Help good companies stop overpaying for mediocre plans.
We’ve helped companies cut their total claims spending 48% below the national benchmark, while delivering plans their teams are actually excited about. That’s not magic. It’s just design, discipline, and a private program that’s built differently from the ground up.
Let’s go back to that foreman.
After a few changes—nothing drastic—his company’s new plan waived primary care copays, covered his wife’s insulin at zero cost, and included virtual counseling for their teenage daughter. Same paycheck, but now he’s not choosing between a tank of gas and a doctor’s visit.
It’s a small thing with a big ripple effect. Stress goes down. Retention goes up. Culture gets stronger. And the company isn’t bleeding cash every year at renewal.
That’s what better benefits can actually do.
You don’t have to settle for the “standard” plan
If your team is stressed about daily costs, you’re not alone. But you don’t have to throw more money at the problem, either. You just need a smarter plan—one designed to meet your people where they are and actually work for them.
We’ve done it for dozens of small and midsize businesses. We can do it for you, too.
—Hunter