Benefits Think

Companies should consider adjusting workloads and provide workers with a flexible schedule so they can go to doctors’ appointments.

Brokers clinging to ways of doing business in the past, such as insurance spreadsheeting, are headed toward a quick retirement.

Self-funding, Form 5550s and picking the right HSA vendor are some topics employers should consider in the coming year.

Employers must fine-tune their health benefit strategies to address the specific requirements of the largest workforce generation.

The problem can result in financial burdens and lost productivity for employees, but companies can provide support services and tools, including an advocacy service through the benefits plan.

This could include providing employees with a flexible schedule to attend doctors’ appointments and/or adjusting their workload.

It’s an uncomfortable topic, especially after a bruising round of accusations in the 1990s.

Unwinding from a professional employer organization relationship takes a significant amount of planning and organization as well as a keen understanding of what a company might endure during the transition period.

The due dates for filing with the IRS remain unchanged for now, but advisers and clients must monitor developments that may repeal or modify rules.

The DOL recently said it will scrap the agency’s previous six-factor test for unpaid interns and instead utilize the “primary beneficiary” test.