The Hidden Risk Firms Face in Retaining Top Talent

Professional services firms, including law, accounting, consulting, and beyond, depend on their top partners and executives to drive growth. These individuals generate revenue, maintain client relationships, and shape culture. Yet despite their high earnings, they face a hidden financial risk: their income stops the moment they do. Unlike entrepreneurs who may leave behind a business worth millions, professionals’ earnings often vanish at death or disability, leaving families exposed.

This protection gap does not just affect individuals. It also has implications for the firms that employ them. Firms that fail to address this issue risk both the well-being of their people and their ability to attract and retain top talent.

How Firms Can Close the Gap with Better Benefits

If you are a decision maker or hold influence over the benefits strategy at your firm, you have a unique opportunity to address this gap in a way that individual planning alone often cannot. While each professional is ultimately responsible for their own financial security, the structure and quality of the benefits you offer can make a decisive difference, especially for highly compensated partners and executives.

Basic group life and disability insurance provide a foundation, but they are often inadequate for top earners. Executive programs can go much further. Because these programs are designed for a select group of key individuals, insurers are often willing to provide much higher face amounts with favorable underwriting terms, including guaranteed or simplified issue options. This scale and specialization enable firms to close the protection gap more effectively and align coverage with the actual financial exposure of their most valuable people.

Why Executive Programs Are Essential

In my reviews with participants of executive benefit plans, I have seen many try to fill the gap with a mix of firm-provided coverage and their own supplemental policies. Some, due to health issues, could not qualify for more, making the guaranteed-issue benefit their only protection. In those situations, the firm-provided coverage was not just a perk, it was essential.

It is not just good for the executives; it can also be a strong advantage for the firm. Strong benefits help attract and retain top talent, boost morale, and enhance the firm’s reputation among its peers. Investing in human capital in this way strengthens culture and positions the firm for long-term success.  With 85% of organizations saying they cannot afford to lose top talent, the ability to offer meaningful, targeted benefits becomes both a protective measure for individuals and a strategic advantage for the firm.

Building Confidence and Trust

I have also observed situations where participants did not fully understand every detail of their coverage, but they recognized, often through conversations with other partners, that the coverage was very good and worth holding onto. This awareness gave them confidence that the firm was genuinely looking out for them and providing something exceptional.

The Strategic Business Case

Offering executive-level benefits is not only about financial protection. It is also about long-term strategy. Firms that provide robust programs:

• Retain and attract top talent in competitive markets

• Strengthen trust and morale among partners and executives

• Differentiate themselves from peers

• Position themselves as organizations that truly invest in people

When professionals know that their firm is providing coverage they could not secure on their own, it reinforces their commitment. This is especially true when guaranteed issue benefits are offered, since health issues may make private coverage harder to attain.

Moving Forward

Firms have a unique opportunity to re-examine their benefit strategies and ask whether their current programs truly align with the financial exposure of their highest earners. The cost of doing nothing is steep, not only for individuals and their families, but also for the firm’s ability to retain its most valuable people and compete in the marketplace.

Closing the protection gap is about more than insurance. It is about investing in the individuals who make the firm successful, strengthening culture, and creating a secure foundation for long-term growth.

Ready to gain a strategic advantage with your benefits? Contact NFP Insurance Solutions today to learn how we can help you design and implement executive benefits that protect your top talent and your firm's future.