Employer Strategies

The Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance allowing the continued use of flexible spending arrangement and health reimbursement arrangement debit cards for the purchase of prescribed over-the-counter medicines and drugs.

The Internal Revenue Service recently released instructions to help employers implement the 2011 cut in payroll taxes that were included as part of the tax cut legislation passed by Congress, along with new income-tax withholding tables that employers will use during 2011.

U.S. employees frequently are transferred to foreign affiliates to obtain experience and to bring home local knowledge from foreign countries. Conversely, employees are transferred from foreign affiliates to U.S. headquarters for similar reasons.

Digital Insurance Inc., which serves small and midsize companies, recently named Wayne Mertel vice president of voluntary solutions.

In a fresh reminder that more change is coming to an uncertain long-term care insurance market, MetLife will no longer sell new such policies and discontinue new enrollments into existing group and multi-life LTC plans.

Is bare-bones health insurance coverage better than no coverage at companies that cannot afford to offer comprehensive benefits?

Voluntary benefits are seen as a palatable alternative to no employer-paid coverage or more costly policies in the individual insurance market, suggests the first in a series of research briefs based on Prudential Financial Inc.’s fifth annual study of employee benefits.

A survey, which was conducted in May and June of 2010, indicated that 72% of new employees said the retirement program is an important reason they will stay with their employer, up from 51% in 2009.

U.S. employers believe that managing the changes resulting from health care reform is a critical business issue, yet few organizations have conducted a full analysis of the legislation’s financial impact, according to a new report from Ernst & Young.

According to a recent report in the Christian Science Monitor, some 17% of you allow dogs in the office. If you’re looking to join the ranks, CSM lists the top five dog-friendly companies.