Workers Now Pay $7,471 for Family Health Coverage. How to Keep 2027 Premium Hikes From Eating Your Raise
If you got a raise this year, your health plan may be quietly taking a big piece of it. A new benchmark survey from KFF found that the average worker with family coverage now pays $7,471 a year toward the premium, up 9% from 2025. Employers are also warning that 2027 will bring the biggest jump in health benefit costs in more than two decades, and many plan to pass more of that bill to workers. With open enrollment underway at most companies, here is what the numbers mean for your paycheck and how to keep more of your raise.
What the new data shows
The KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published October 22, puts the average annual premium for employer coverage at $9,804 for a single worker and $28,303 for a family. Both rose about 5% from last year. Over the same stretch, KFF reports that workers’ wages grew 3.7% and inflation ran at 2.7%.
The part that hits your paycheck directly is the worker share. Covered workers contribute an average of $1,672 a year for single coverage and $7,471 for family coverage. That family figure jumped $621 in a single year. KFF also found that 13% of covered workers, and 31% of those at smaller firms, are in a plan where the worker pays $12,000 or more a year for family coverage.
Company size matters a lot. Workers at smaller firms pay an average of $9,687 toward family coverage, compared with $6,840 at larger firms. On average, workers pay 37% of the family premium at small firms versus 25% at large ones.
2027 looks worse
Next year’s outlook is not better. In preliminary results from its national survey, Mercer found employers expect total health benefit cost per employee to rise 8.2% on average in 2027, the highest increase since 2003, even after the cost-cutting changes they plan to make. Without those changes, employers said costs would rise about 11%. Mercer also notes that 59% of employers plan to make cost-cutting changes in 2027, such as higher deductibles.
WTW’s 2026 Best Practices in Healthcare Survey is even gloomier. Employers there project an 11.1% increase in 2027 before plan changes and 9.7% after, which WTW describes as nearly three times the pace of wage growth. Looking ahead to 2028, 85% of employers are planning or considering shifting more costs to workers through premium contributions, nearly double the 44% doing it today, and 71% are planning or considering higher out-of-pocket costs.
KFF’s survey shows the same pattern is already underway. Among large firms that responded to projected cost increases, the most common move was raising the share of the premium workers pay (44%), followed by raising deductibles or other cost sharing (21%).
How much of your raise is really left
Here is a simple way to think about it. Suppose you earn $60,000 and got a 3.5% raise, which is $2,100 before taxes. If you carry family coverage and your contribution rises by roughly the $621 KFF found this year, close to 30% of your raise is gone before you see it, and that is before taxes and any higher deductible. If your employer raises your share of the premium in 2027, as many say they will, the bite could be bigger.
That is why the number on your offer letter or raise notice is not the number that matters. What matters is your take-home pay after benefits. We covered the inflation side of this in our look at how real wages are slipping behind prices, and the same logic applies to health costs: a raise that does not cover rising deductions is a pay cut in disguise.
Five ways to protect your raise this open enrollment
1. Compare your total cost, not just the premium
Add up the yearly premium you pay, your deductible, and a realistic estimate of copays for the care you actually use. A cheaper premium with a high deductible can cost more if you see doctors often, and a pricier plan can be a waste if you rarely use care. Run the numbers for each option instead of re-enrolling on autopilot.
2. Look hard at an HSA-qualified plan
KFF found that workers in HSA-qualified plans pay less toward family coverage on average ($6,211 versus $7,471 overall). Those plans come with higher deductibles, but money you put in a health savings account goes in pre-tax and can be invested. Our guide to the 2027 HSA limits walks through how much you can save and how to use it as a raise you give yourself.
3. Check spouse and dependent options
If your spouse or partner has coverage through work, compare both plans. Some employers charge a surcharge for covering a spouse who could get insurance elsewhere, and splitting coverage between two plans can sometimes cost less than putting the whole family on one.
4. Bring benefit costs into your raise conversation
If your raise is landing in the same window as higher deductions, say so. Ask your manager or HR what your net pay change will be after benefits, and use that figure when you make your case. Benchmarks help: our breakdown of the 3.6% Social Security COLA gives you a public yardstick for what keeping up actually requires. If your employer can’t move on base pay, ask about a higher HSA contribution from the company, a one-time bonus, or a wellness credit that lowers your premium.
5. Weigh benefits when you job hunt
Because small employers tend to charge workers more for family coverage, a job offer with a higher salary can leave you with less money after deductions. Before you accept an offer, ask for the benefits summary and the employee premium rates for the coverage tier you need, then compare total compensation, not just the salary line.
The bottom line
Health coverage is one of the fastest-growing costs workers face, and employers are signaling that more of it will land on paychecks in 2027. You can’t control what your company’s insurer charges, but you can choose the right plan, use tax-advantaged accounts, and make sure any raise you negotiate is big enough to survive the deductions. Treat open enrollment like part of your pay, because it is.
Sources: KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey (October 22, 2026); Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, preliminary 2027 results; WTW 2026 Best Practices in Healthcare Survey (October 2026). The raise example above is an illustration, not survey data.