Benefits Think

Billionaire boy wonder Mark Zuckerberg has truly revolutionized the interwebs, and so when Morningstar reported this week that some 50 mutual funds have shares in Facebook, standing to gain billions, I think it’s only fair to wonder: Can Zuckerberg revolutionize retirement as well?

Do your clients have a process in place to comply with the laws that regulate their health plans? If the answer is no, then by default your compliance strategy recommendation to them is “keep your head down and hope you don’t get caught.” While this approach may actually be appealing to some overworked HR Managers, others in the organization, such as the CFO or CEO, may not be happy if they discover that federal law is…

We’ve all seen the research data documenting the positive effects that benefits have on employee morale. However, in today’s age of shrinking benefits and rising premiums, employees are likely missing the forest for the trees. During last year’s open enrollment, most employers likely had to raise their employee cost-share, increase their medical deductible, offer a new CDHP or all of the above. Employees can perceive these types of changes as takeaways and/or benefit reductions, resulting in…

The great swings so far in the Republican nomination race may seem like fertile ground for watercooler discussion. However, I — as well as etiquette and HR/benefits experts — strongly encourage you to resist talking politics in the office.

Can you imagine a world where the “new norm” required insurers and providers to disclose what they charge upfront? Read as Mark Gaunya, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters, shares two specific messages he took to the Hill at the Cap Conference and the outcome.

Employers pay people to meet sales goals, hit productivity targets, put in overtime. It works. By that logic, paying people cash incentives to lose weight or engage in other healthy behaviors also should “work”. But it doesn’t. Or at least, not in the long run.

Do you have an action plan for complying with the Wage Theft Protection Act by February 1? Read in today’s BeAdvised as EBA contributor Ken Moyle shares three areas New York employers must comply with under the WTPA.

While President Obama's State of the Union address cited corporations that were dedicated to helping train American workers, Obama interestingly never — not once — specifically called on businesses to play a part in worker training, or even suggest that it was in their interests to do so. This, in my view, was a major failing of the president’s address.

Is every business a potential client? The answer depends on who you ask and where you are in your business evolution. Thinking back to my humble beginning . . . every business was a potential client. If they were moving I went after them! There was no target market. There was no ideal size, industry or appropriate corporate culture. …

An online commentary from a Forbes contributor points out that according to research by two economists, buying LTC in many cases may not only be unnecessary but also economically inadvisable.