Benefits Think

Ever since the financial collapse of 2008, the corporate mantra has been “Do more with less.” Now, new survey results show that employers can get more work out of employees, without even boosting base pay.

In a recent survey, when Penn Mutual calculated the actual median value of services, a women’s contribution to the home was $34,256 and men’s was $19,322. In addition, men were 9% more likely to overestimate their contribution by $30,000 or more, while 36% of women underestimated their value by at least $30,000.

As President Obama prepares to unveil his new job-creation plan Thursday night, he doesn’t exactly have the strongest lead-in. Last week’s jobs report revealed the economy added zero jobs last month, leaving unemployment at 9.1%. The report also showed unemployment is particularly high among young Americans (age 18-24) — an eye-popping 16.4%.

When I say Bernie Madoff, what do you say? Without more than a second, you might generate sinister synonyms such as “thief,” “crook,” “con-man,” or “man with no ethics.” The list could go on and on. And as we all know, the sad fact is that the damage Madoff inflicted was not just monetary. He also crushed the public’s opinion of the advisery community. Those of us in his wake have been given the task of…

In part two of a two-part blog series Robert Winslow, principal of Elm Street Partners, continues his blog about some of the opportunity that the new health care legislation has brought apart. Supplemental Coverages. PPACA accelerates a market change that has been evolving for some time, one that sees real business growth from supplemental coverages versus the base health plan. Supplemental products have come a long way in recent years, both by voluntary carriers and…

According to 541 SHRM members polled, the majority say a job candidate’s social media activity is a non-issue when it comes to hiring.

Stop the presses! If you were planning to roll out an employee survey to coincide with this fall’s open enrollment season, you may want to hold off, survey results show.

In part one of a two-part blog series Robert Winslow, principal of Elm Street Partners, blogs about some of the opportunity that the new health care legislation has brought upon. Do you agree with Winslow that there is an opportunity in all the changes? While it’s been nearly a year and a half since passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, I’m frankly amazed at how many people still seem caught in…

The "eagerly-awaited" guidelines regarding the uniform summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) required by Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have finally been released. Comments are being invited until Oct. 21, 2011, with implementation anticipated by March 23, 2012, the two-year anniversary of PPACA's passage. This is not just the first step in the direction of increasing uniformity in the structure and communication of benefit plans. …

“Garden leave,” a transitional period during which a terminating employee "is paid to remain at home and out of work, but to be ‘on call’ to his or her former employer for as-needed transitional services.” To me, this concept is wholly interesting and if I were in a position to choose, I’d prefer it to phased retirement.