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With the economy slowly gaining ground and employees able to take their pick of job opportunities, employers are finding it increasingly important to pack extra benefits to attract the best hires. But according to SHRMs new State of Employee Benefits in Workplace Survey, the story changes a bit when workers are on the job as HR professionals less frequently use benefits as a retention tool.
The most recent LIMRA survey reveals that approximately 60% of Americans who have used health exchanges so far to try to shop for health coverage say they sought out assistance when actually buying their health insurance plan.
Theres some good news for those who fear that putting health care financial decisions in the hands of employees might produce nothing but confusion. Instead, a new survey indicates that employees who actively contribute to their HSAs do indeed become more engaged and involved in managing their health.
Its not hard to make a compelling case for the value of income replacement products in the voluntary benefits suite, but theyre still a low priority for many HR decision makers. A new federal caucus and some new employee-centered awareness might give disability insurance the focus it needs.
Employees usually have a pretty high opinion of their decision-making skills in life, but when it comes to personal finances, most folks are pretty honest about their total lack of good choices.
Employers, on the whole, report seeing their health care costs continuing to rise most suggest that costs will jump 19% between 2013 and 2014 alone.
The 2013 Deloitte Employer Survey finds that many employers see the entire health care system as being expensive and wasteful, and indicate that they dont believe the ACA will do much to help to change the situation.
Learning to cope with treatment or even the time or alternative work arrangements required for an employee helping a loved one dealing with cancer can be a challenge for any HR professional, but a new guide hopes to provide better understanding.
The Department of Labor is apparently close to finishing its controversial work on establishing a fiduciary standard.
Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of labor with the Department of Labors EBSA division, told attendees at Tuesdays annual ASPPA conference in Washington that the last stages of finalizing Labors conflict of interest rulings are indeed underway.
The HR world did not come to a screeching halt with the Oct. 1 launch of the public exchanges.
According to a national survey conducted by Pew Research, nearly 50% of those polled said they did not believe that the online insurance exchanges were working well. But when asked for details on actually using an online exchange, 56% of those whod visited one said theyd personally found the site easy to use.
A recent survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health shows surprisingly different results about employee ACA knowledge than a similar poll the organization commissioned in the summer.
Helen Darling, NBGH president and CEO, says about a third (32%) of employees surveyed also believe that the overall quality of their health care benefits will drop as the ACA begins to roll out.
As intelligence emerges about failed and rushed testing in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 1 launch of Healthcare.gov, an expert close to state-run exchanges says these issues may not be as easily fixed as the president alluded to on Monday.
One expert says the state systems do, by comparison, seem to be enjoying some smoother sailing, though major backlogs and service interruptions have been reported in systems from coast to coast.
Recognizing the challenges (and headaches) involved in taking care of setting up their own benefits plans, a majority of small businesses say they recognize the need for an outside adviser to help.
As this month's issue of EBN is arriving in your mailbox, let us hope that the world indeed has not gone to hell in the proverbial handbasket – October 1 being one of those first, tangible deadlines for the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provisions: the official launch of the public health care exchanges.
In one of the biggest steps for private health care exchanges so far, Aon Hewitt has announced that it will be offering health benefits for more than 330,000 American employees of some well-known companies, including Walgreens, Sears Holdings and Darden Restaurants parent company of Red Lobster and the Olive Garden.