Employer Strategies

Thanks to new cost-of-living adjustments, the Internal Revenue Service is allowing the American workforce to save a bit more in their retirement plans next year.

Employer clients acting as the fiduciary of a benefit plan may often seek the advice of their trusted adviser. ERISA recognizes that need but also disallows the misuse of an expert. So what qualifies as misuse?

For employers, the phenomenon of boomerang employees – those employees who leave only to return sometime later – has been reinvigorated thanks to an attitude shift in the American workplace. Here are five considerations when deciding whether to rehire a boomerang employee.

Commentary: The migration of employers from defined benefit to defined contribution programs has been the subject of a lot of conversation in the employee benefits industry for the past seven or eight years. The Affordable Care Act has galvanized the industry’s move forward, and the availability of highly advanced technology is likely to accelerate this transition.

With more than one-third of U.S. adults being obese, employer-sponsored weight management programs can play an important role in the effort to get Americans to adopt healthier lifestyles.

The Validation Institute certifies individuals as competent to review, analyze, and produce health program measures. Given the high stakes – millions of dollars in savings – it’s comforting that not just any 11-year-old could pass.

One of the nation’s premier business groups whose mission is employee health promotion is embroiled in a controversy involving $184 million in contracts awarded by Covered California without competitive bidding.

Well-informed employees make smarter choices and providing the tools needed during open enrollment is essential.

Employers that are considering incorporating wearable fitness devices into their wellness programs are facing important decisions about the cost of those devices, and must also be prepared to allay employees’ concerns about data security.

With mental health and substance abuse disorder services deemed an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act, employee assistance program providers are taking on a new role – helping employers and health plans sniff out fraudulent health care activity among substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities.