Benefits Think

As we begin the New Year, educating employees about new benefit programs through innovative, digital communication will be absolutely crucial. Here are five predictions for what 2014 will bring.

Although plan sponsors aren't required by law to have one, the investment policy statement is one of the primary documents the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor request when they visit employers for plan audits.

It’s undeniable – cloud-based technologies have fundamentally changed how businesses operate. As employers transition from on- to off-premise for HRIS, they are seeing increased productivity and profitability in the obvious ways: lower up-front costs, faster innovation, easier integration, and no nasty upgrade hassles. It’s quite possible, however, that a less-obvious HR cloud revolution may prove to be even more meaningful – one that is more about people and culture.

Columnist Mel Schlesinger points out that with so many early renewals last year, growing your business early this year will take extra effort.

Columnist Nelson Griswold on what the voluntary sales space is doing wrong and how to fix it.

The Wellness Emperor Has No Clothes is the theme of Al Lewis’s and Vik Khanna’s writings, and it gets a new treatment in their latest book, Surviving Workplace Wellness. It paints a stark unflattering picture of the wellness sales industry.

Health care exchanges and other issues related to the Affordable Care Act have garnered a great deal of attention. However, additional and less well-known ACA regulations went into effect on January 1. One of these impacts wellness programs, including the myriad initiatives employers have put in place to encourage employees to exercise, lose weight and otherwise improve their health to prevent illness, disability and its costs.

Small-group employers are still particularly perplexed about their ACA options. Here are four options to leverage with these clients.

As you work with your investment adviser on the content of your annual 401(k) plan employee education sessions, now is the time to determine whether it makes sense to re-enroll all of your participants into your Qualified Default Investment Alternative funds.

Columnist Jack Kwicien talks private exchanges, mergers and more for success in the year ahead.