Employer Strategies

Commentary: With so much happening at year’s end and again at the beginning of the New Year, columnist John Ludwig shares what plan sponsors be working on.

Low cost, no minimum investment and daily trading are reasons for their increased use over the past 10 years.

How can employers get more out of their wellness programs without also growing their budgets?

Historically, financial planners have advised that retirees could expect to derive their retirement income from three sources: Social Security, corporate retirement plans and personal savings. That might not be the case anymore.

Employers will devote more mind share to retirement programs in the coming year, in part because of increased confidence about compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

This year saw not only more implementations of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, but already some changes to it – by both the legislative and judicial arms of government. Additionally, new technologies and outlooks are changing how benefit decision-makers are strategizing wellness programs.

When evaluating the merits of a private exchange, one industry insider suggests pursuing an overall financial strategy built around achieving “true savings” rather than simply shifting costs onto employees – a warning that has been sounded for years in the traditional marketplace.

As health care reform continues to unfold, employers are re-examining the role of their benefit programs in their overall human capital strategy and coming around to the idea that attracting, retaining and engaging workers hinges on the total employee experience, not health care benefits alone.

Commentary: Zenefits is definitely more open about what they are giving away, but industry technology adviser Joe Markland guarantees they aren’t the only benefit firm that may in some way be breaking the Utah rebating laws.

Despite great investment returns recently, the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension funds have been defenseless against growing liabilities resulting from dropping discount rates.