Employee benefits

Commentary: Required minimum distributions can be tricky. Columnist John Ludwig has tips for advising employees on this topic.

A new PwC survey suggests millennial employees are feeling the pinch more strongly than other workers, and notes that ongoing financial stress can be a tremendous drain on worker productivity and performance – and will be until remuneration begins to match the rapidly increasing cost of living.

Engaging and empowering employees to make better health and health care decisions, evaluating health exchanges and dealing with the lack of health care price transparency are three of the biggest challenges for Texas employers, finds a recent survey by the Texas Business Group on Health.

While all eyes had been on HIX enrollment numbers during the ACA’s first open-enrollment period, millions of Americans also chose health insurance options off the exchange. What does this mean for adverse selection and future premium pricing?

In a first look at pharmacy trends in public health insurance exchange plans, use of specialty medications was greater among exchange enrollees versus patients enrolled in a commercial health plan, according to new research released by Express Scripts.

Employees enrolled in a zero copay program for their diabetes and high cholesterol drugs had better adherence to those medications than employees not enrolled in the program, according to a recent retrospective case comparison study from Walgreens.

MetLife has launched a new voluntary life insurance product aimed at baby boomers nearing retirement.

The ability for staff to incorporate innovative new ideas that bring changes to dilapidated processes can only be fostered in a workplace that allows for an open communicative culture across organizational lines.

Wondering whether your plan design is still market competitive? Leading-edge 401(k) and 403(b) plans have the following plan design features in common.

Commentary: Research shows that the financial services industry remains the least trusted business, according to blogger Jerry Kalish. However, people trust business overall to innovate and change, more than the government. Here’s how you can start to build trust back.

Commentary: While voluntary sales continue to rise, billing for these products is turning into a mess, says blogger Tinker Kelly. The concept of self-billing, explained here, can fix this.

A new study finds that retirement readiness among the baby boomer generation continued its decline in key confidence measurements that look at whether the age cohort was comfortable with covering medical expenses and income needs when they exit the workforce.

The number of uninsured Americans has dropped to its lowest level recorded since 2008, a new Gallup poll finds, attributing the decrease to ACA successes.

It would appear cash is king once again as a long-term incentive of choice for U.S. companies, yet equity-based incentives such as stock options are still an attractive retention tool, according to research.

Health and wellness programs are virtually meaningless if a workplace culture is bad, according to Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s graduate school of business. Speaking during the annual Great Place to Work conference in New Orleans, Pfeffer said that unhealthy workplaces can cause up to 125,000 employee deaths each year and add up to $130 billion in excess annual company costs.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that would modify the Affordable Care Act’s definition of a full-time employee from one who works 30-hours a week to one who works 40-hours a week.

While it’s not surprising that in 2013 the trend of employers shifting rising health care costs to employees continued to grow, it also appears employers have begun to design health care plans with looming Affordable Care Act provisions in mind.

After a sharp increase of 6.9% from 2010 to 2011, health plan premiums rose at a rate of 1.7% between 2013 and 2014, according to data from ADP.

Pharmacy benefits are typically the most utilized benefit by plan members and one of the fastest-growing in terms of cost. Consequently, selecting the right pharmacy benefit manager is a critical decision in managing a plan and determining member satisfaction with that plan.

Enlivening your staff and company’s workplace culture can be as simple and sustainable as committing random acts of kindness.