Firms in the financial services sector are spending heavily on private medical insurance and yet are struggling with retaining employees at pivotal life stages.

Menopause, fertility treatment, prenatal support, postnatal support, mental health, and most gynaecological conditions sit almost entirely outside standard PMI. So firms pay a rising premium for cover that doesn't touch the issues most likely to push a senior employee towards reduced hours, extended absence or a competitor.

From spring 2027, firms with 250 or more employees must publish an equality action plan alongside their gender pay gap data, setting out what they are doing on the pay gap and how they are supporting employees through menopause. The financial services sector already reports one of the widest gender pay gaps of any sector. The two will sit on the same page, on the same government service, and the connection between them will be obvious to anyone reading.

Join our Friends of Fertifa breakfast for HR and people leaders in financial services to discuss the healthcare gaps in PMI, why they cost firms their best people, and what a defensible equality action plan looks like before 2027. We'll be joined by leading organisations sharing their insights.

• When: Tuesday 6th October | 08:30 – 10:30
• Where: The Ivy Tower Bridge

What we'll cover:

• The PMI gaps firms can't afford to ignore. Premiums are climbing and cover is narrowing, which makes it harder to justify paying more for a policy that excludes menopause, fertility and much of women's health. We'll look at where the money is actually going and where it isn't.
• Menopause and the gender pay gap as one problem, not two. What the equality action plan requirement means in practice, what counts as evidence rather than intent, and how to build a plan you can defend when it's published next to your pay gap figures.
• A first look at findings from Fertifa Data Labs. We're surveying employees working in financial services on the healthcare gaps in their PMI, how they affect productivity and engagement, and whether they are moving to competitors with more comprehensive benefits. Attendees will see the findings before anyone else.

This Friends of Fertifa breakfast is an intimate session for HR thought-leaders in financial services. It's a chance to compare notes with peers facing the same challenges and to share best practice.

Spaces are limited.