Employee benefits

While the number of health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements increased in 2010, average individual account balances fell, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Dossia, a Cambridge, Mass.-based personal health records vendor targeting large employers, has named Michael Critelli as president and CEO, succeeding Colin Evans.

U.S. workers can expect median base salary increases of 2.8% in 2011, compared to 2.4% in 2010, while executives and skilled-trade workers can anticipate a 2.7% increase, according to the "Salary Budgets Survey" by the Hay Group.

Research analyzing health saving accounts managed by three large banks shows that accounts with employer contributions had an average contribution of $1,058 for calendar year 2009.

There are two proposed pieces of legislation sitting in Congress that would seem to be no-brainers for helping people save for retirement and helping advisers help their clients.

Small-business employment continued to show growth in December with hours worked up and wages flat, according to the latest update of the Intuit Inc.’s "Small Business Employment Index."

New research on workplace clinics observes that the clinics may have a limited impact on direct health costs, but their presence offers employers more control over how health care is delivered.

Business owners who employ between two and 500 workers recently told pollsters they have reshuffled business priorities where now business and income protection have taken center stage.

A combination of regulatory, political and economic factors are set to create an uncertain environment for U.S. health care insurers, Moody's Investors Service reports, leading to a continuation of the negative outlook for the industry.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is now offering its new Dental Prime and Complete programs on both a voluntary and employer-paid basis with three core plan designs to 40,000 small businesses and 79 chambers of commerce throughout Connecticut.

In a sign of the times, the 38 independent provider law firms associated with Pre-Paid Legal Services responded to more than 79,000 requests to handle debt-collection issues in the first half of 2010 – accounting for 7% of the 1.1 million overall requests for assistance during that timeframe.

Health care providers, attorneys and other service providers can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Several leading service providers across the worksite-market landscape, hoping the economy heads northbound, are poised to reach higher ground in 2011. Consider a few of the most recent developments:

Over the last three decades, the job tenure for American women who work full time increased, while the length of time men workers stayed with an employer dropped, report researchers at the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

WageWorks Inc., which offers consumer-directed benefits solutions, recently acquired the tax-favored and benefits continuation administration business of Fringe Benefits Management Company (FBMC), which offers customized voluntary and core benefit products primarily in the public-sector market.

Just 39% of single and never-married employees have life insurance compared to 61% of all 2,071 working Americans responding to a recent online Harris Interactive survey for the Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company.

Employers with dental or vision benefits have gritted teeth and winced about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s impact on such coverage, but a recent Segal Co. analysis seeks to clear up any confusion about compliance.

Lists of New Year’s resolutions are unavoidable during this time of year – both in print and across the blogosphere. The same can be said about industry forecasts. One such prognostication that will pique the interest voluntary benefit plan proponents involves a bullish outlook on critical-illness insurance (CII) for insurance brokers in 2011.

In a new twist on teleworking programs, some organizations are paying employees lump sums to furnish a home office.

In an effort to maintain comprehensive employee health benefits while controlling rising health care costs, employers increasingly are relying on an array of wellness programs aimed at creating a healthier workforce.