Jackson National Life Insurance Company

The Spark

Jackson is a financial services company headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, with about over 2,700 employees at its main campus and a regional sales office of 640+ employees in Franklin, Tennessee. When Jackson built its Lansing, MI headquarters in 2000, leadership identified a lack of child care options near the new facility and made a straightforward calculation: if they were going to recruit financial services talent to a campus location, employees would need to know that child care was accessible. The company built an on-site child care center as part of the campus. But the question that followed was just as important: what about the regional offices that are too small for a dedicated facility?

The Solution

At its headquarters in Lansing, Jackson operates an on-site child care center through a partnership with KinderCare. Approximately 70% of slots are reserved for Jackson employees, with the remainder open to the community. The center offers subsidized tuition, and employees use it for everything from infant care to daily convenience. Parents on lunch breaks walk over to nurse a baby or eat with their child. Proximity reduces the logistical burden that pulls working parents away from their desks, and managers spend less time covering for employees managing child care emergencies across town.

For the Franklin, Tennessee office and other regional locations, Jackson scaled the benefit to match the office size rather than defaulting to nothing. The package has three components. First, a nationwide relationship with KinderCare gives all Jackson employees access to discounted child care rates regardless of where they live or work. Second, the company offers a dependent care flexible spending account, which allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars for child care expenses. Third, Jackson’s EAP program includes child care navigation and referral services, helping employees find vetted providers in their area. The company also provides four weeks of paid parental leave for all parents.

Susannah Berry, AVP of Corporate Philanthropy and Events and a mother of three children ages seven, four, and one, has used the DCFSA herself and describes it as one of the most immediately helpful benefits. She also notes that Jackson’s benefit navigation program ensures employees awareness of the DCFSA.

The Results

Jackson has not formally measured ROI on its child care benefits, but observes recruiting as where the impact is most visible. In financial services, where competition for specialized talent is fierce, child care support is a meaningful part of the recruiting pitch, especially for candidates who are navigating parenthood. Having the on-site center at its headquarters and the broader benefits for all employees lets Jackson tell candidates: you will not have to solve this problem alone.

Retention benefits are equally clear, even if harder to quantify. Susannah describes a noticeable difference in how focused and present employees can be when child care logistics are not consuming their attention. At headquarters, where the center is on-site, managers have noted less disruption. At the Franklin office, the DCFSA, discounts, and navigation services give working parents a meaningful financial and logistical advantage over employers who offer nothing. For a company competing for talent in Williamson County, one of the most expensive housing markets in Tennessee, every benefit that eases the cost of raising a family strengthens the case for staying.