Can Your Engineering Firm Offer Enterprise-Level Benefits While Reducing Premium Costs?
If your engineering firm had the opportunity to provide Fortune 1000-level benefits to your employees—while cutting costs—would you take a closer look?
In today’s environment of economic uncertainty—rising tariffs, inflation risk, recessionary concerns, talent gap—firms of all sizes are searching for smarter ways to extend financial runway, retain top talent, and stay competitive. One often overlooked opportunity? Transforming your employee benefits strategy.
What does the ACEC and the ACEC Life/Health Trust stand for?
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) has served as the voice of the U.S. engineering industry for over 100 years, representing thousands of engineering firms and hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide. For more than 57 years, the ACEC Life/Health Trust has empowered over 1,500+ small and mid-sized firms—supporting 100,000+ employees—with enterprise-level group benefit programs that are typically unavailable through the ACA marketplace or local carriers. And with a 91% retention rate, the value is clear.
Why It Matters:
The Trust uses its collective bargaining power to:
Negotiate richer benefits at lower costs
Provide access to two of the largest national provider networks
Offer predictable composite rates (not just age-banded)
This means you don’t have to be a large firm to compete with one.
Where Does Efferent Solutions Fit In?
At Efferent Solutions, we’ve proudly partnered with the ACEC Life/Health Trust for years—helping our engineering firm clients save hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual premiums while improving benefit quality.
But here’s what makes us different.
We are independent and fiduciary-aligned to our clients, not the ACEC. That means we:
quote local ACA, level-funded, and self-funded options alongside the Trust programs
benchmark all options to make sure you’re positioned to win
tailor solutions to your culture, budget, and growth goals
We don’t just show you what’s out there—we help you make confident, informed decisions.
What benefit programs are offered through the ACEC Life/Health Trust?
It’s not just about plan pricing—this is a full-spectrum benefits suite engineered to support small to mid-sized engineering and architecture firms across the U.S.
Here are the programs you will have access to choose from:
Group Medical Benefit Programs
Fully insured PPO - traditional fully insured PPO medical plans
Select – a level funded (aka “alternate funded”) plan – enjoy the benefits of a self-insured plan while minimizing your overall risk exposure
Advantage – a competitive stop-loss policy coverage for firms considering the self-funded route or those with an existing self-funded medical plan
Patient Advocacy Support Programs (included as part of the above medical benefit programs)
These programs work directly with employees to assist them in their search for quality of care providers, respective costs associated with an upcoming procedure, and evaluates the plan coverage so the employee gets the most out of their benefits.
Group Telehealth benefits (co-pays)
Group Wellness programs
Is Now the Right Time to Re-Evaluate Your Options?
Whether you're exploring the ACEC Trust for the first time or it's been a few years since your last evaluation, now is the perfect moment to compare your current strategy with what’s available today.
Get in touch for a free consultation or reach out to learn how we can help your firm compete like an enterprise—without the enterprise cost!
About The Author
Nitai Spiro is the founder and CEO of Efferent Solutions. With almost two decades of experience in employee benefits strategy and program design, Nitai (pronounced “knee-tie”) is a trusted advisor to employers seeking to align competitive benefits with their broader business goals.
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