Benefits Think

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.

Employees in Midwestern and Northeastern states are more likely to participate in retirement plans than their Southern and Western counterparts, states new data from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Thanks for this post. Really important to think about the implications of those rising deductibles while employees' are struggling with finances. I just posted about that here: http://www.benzcommunications.com/blog/average-deductible-1000

Jennifer Benz, founder of Benz Communications, discusses new trends in benefit communication as part of our November feature on the topic.

Streamline your business travel budget.

New survey results from Mercer reveal that for the first time this year, employees' average annual deductible for single coverage topped $1,000 -- a troubling sign for employers and workers alike who are struggling to pay for health care.

The latest rankings from Jobfox show that HR generalist is No. 25 on the firm's most recession-proof jobs for the 120-day period ending Oct. 28. No. 1 remains sales representative. Click here for the full list and methodology.

Hold off on buying an AARP mini-med plan.

According to survey results from the Physicians Foundation, primary care physicians are severely unhappy with their work, so much so that:* 20% plan to reduce their patient load.* 13% plan to take positions without active patient care.* 11% plan to retire.* 78% report a shortage of primary care physicians.*...

Thsi is not the way to create better consumers. It appear the both the government and the companies that process payroll might benefit from the extra workload that this process would create. Business are not looking for ways to spend more on behalf of their employees in this economy.