On the brink
Immigration reform is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix a badly broken system, says one industry group.
Tristan Lejeune
Associate Editor of Employee Benefit News
Survey: Employees don’t want control over health care
Aflac report reveals sobering gap in employee readiness to take on the shift toward consumer-driven health.
Projected retirement health care costs drop
Fidelity Investments reports the average projected cost of health care expenses for retirees has gone down but cautions its not a trend.
Wellness rules clarified but could make more work for employers
The Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services issued what are being called final rules on employment-based wellness programs, and advocacy groups immediately weighed in on the changes, which were required under the Affordable Care Act.
Betting on losing
Companies such as Dominos Pizza are introducing a new weight loss challenge program that doesnt cost them anything and makes employees put some skin in the game.
BMW drives employees to comprehensive onsite clinic
As more companies embrace consumer-driven health care models and prepare for the full implementation of health care reform, employees need voluntary benefits more than ever. This chart pack includes the latest data on voluntary benefits from the Aflac WorkForces Report and UBAs Ancillary Products Survey.
Study: More than two-thirds of ER visits avoidable
The study from Truven Health Analytics examined insurance claims data for over 6.5 million emergency department visits in 2010 and found that just 29% of patients actually required immediate attention in the emergency room.
Use of social media to recruit increasing
The number of employers using social media and social networking websites to recruit job candidates continues to rise, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management, with 77% of employers surveyed saying they currently use social networking for recruitment purposes.
Contributions to 403(b) plans rising
Most 403(b) organizations contributed to their plans in 2012, the PSCA reports, with the average contribution nearly 10% higher than 2011.
ACA regulations rife with unknowns
Yesterday Groom Law Groups Mark Nielsen addressed the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Washington legislative update, saying health reform watchers are still hoping for more and better guidance on ACA rules and standards.
Employers confidence in health plans rising
Sixty-nine percent of employers tells the IFEBP that they definitely plan to provide employer-sponsored health care when exchanges begin in 2014; in 2012, only 46% of companies were willing to commit to that.
Projected retirement health care costs drop
A 65-year-old couple exiting the workforce in 2013 is estimated to need $220,000 to cover health care costs throughout their retirement, an 8% decrease from last years $240,000.
Fewer workers feel financially secure
More than a third of Americans say they dont feel financially secure, according to a survey from Unum. Moreover, the number of those who feel not at all secure is up from the last year. Women, meanwhile, feel more financially insecure than men.
CDA reports gap in disability risk assessments
In an advance copy of Disability Divide: Employer Study provided to EBN, only 26% of HR professionals surveyed believe employees feel its very important to prepare for a disability; the same amount thinks employees are in fact properly prepared to withstand a disabling event.
Most Americans ill-prepared for critical illness
Ninety percent of Americans lack confidence that they have enough savings to cover emergencies and the long-term implications of serious illnesses, such as cancer, Alzheimers or heart disease, reports the National Institute for Wellness Solutions.
Happy Mothers Day! Lets talk about money
A new Fidelity Investments study finds that noticeably more mothers than fathers have had comprehensive conversations about savings, planning and retirement with their adult children.
Survey: Most have suffered from bad hires
Sixty-six percent of U.S. employers report a bad-fit employee has had a measurable negative impact in a new survey from CareerBuilder. France reported the lowest level of instances, with 53%; Russia was highest with 88%.
Immigration expert welcomes recruiting changes with new reform
Perhaps few people are as intimately familiar with the 840-plus-page immigration bill as Rebecca Peters. The director and counsel for legislative affairs for ACIP, Peters has been following the act since its conception and, should it pass in its current form, she says it has lots of good news for employers.
Immigration reform offers opportunities for HR
However, just dealing with the current landscape (both in terms of importing and exporting wage-earners) can be challenging enough, even before reforms are taken into account.
AIP reports more companies dropping 401(k) match
According to this weeks 401(k) Performance Survey, approximately 5% of 401(k) plans, or 13,811 plans, stopped matching in 2010, and an additional 2% halted the employer match in 2011.