Sarah Mahalchick and her future husband spoke at one of their first meetings about the desire to adopt. There were many children who needed parents, they told themselves one from the beginning.
But when they were ready to expand their family, they opted for fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization. It seemed to make sense: Mrs. Mahalchick’s employer would pay for much of her treatment through her health insurance; offered almost no adoption assistance.
Fertility benefits are becoming almost fashionable in blue-chip companies, with several companies offering to help with IVF costs and egg freezing. But in many cases, companies that offer fertility benefits do not provide financial assistance to employees who want to adopt, and when they do adopt the benefits they are often much less generous.
Estimates of the number of companies offering fertility or adoption benefits are unclear. Most employers don’t give any. But the gap is clear.
The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that as of 2018, 27% of employers have provided some form of infertility coverage and 11% have provided adoption assistance. FertilityIQ, a website that offers courses and other information on family building, regularly researches disclosures from thousands of employers. In a report released on Saturday, it estimates that only one in five companies offering fertility coverage also provides adoption assistance.