Quality of life benefits

While employers define the topic in different ways, most are focused solely on the physical.

When employers understand what really matters to employees, they can shape a total work and benefits experience that can have an impact on engagement and business performance.

Lower income employees present a particular challenge to employers as they seek to get a handle on managing their health plans.

The financial rewards of an engaged workforce can be significant for employers, and yet the correlation between higher levels of employee engagement and a company’s bottom line is not necessarily well-understood by senior executives.

Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released some new proposed regulations on wellness programs, employers are still grappling with how to incorporate new health technologies into their programs.

The possibility of specialty drug pricing financially overwhelming business and union health plans is very real.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in the Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores case addressed in broad terms how exceptions to the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for contraceptive benefits coverage can be granted in the private sector, it left some unresolved questions both in the for-profit and in the nonprofit world.

Commentary: Providing accommodations for workers will disabilities can help reduce employee absenteeism and presenteeism, the type of productivity loss associated with employees working through medical conditions.

Most disabilities, on average, can keep an employee out of work for roughly three months, and yet, only about a quarter of employees say they currently have disability insurance.

Commentary: While an employee assistance program may be promoted to employees when it’s launched, it quickly becomes lost in the collection of employee benefits and is rarely utilized. To maximize its value, ask whether your prospective vendor includes some of the following services.

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House and Senate would require employer-sponsored retirement plans to provide participants with an estimate of how much lifetime income they could expect from their current savings.

If employees are not well prepared for retirement it should be a major concern for both employees and their employers, experts say.

Does giving employees multiple choices of health plans drive competition and empower them pick plans offering the greatest value and highest quality care –the theory underlying the Affordable Care Act and many employers’ benefit plan designs?

Without an effective strategy or the right tools to reduce costs, brokers and employers continue to embrace cost shifting through payroll contributions and changes to deductibles and coinsurance to manage rising healthcare cost. However, there are resources that can help employers effectively measure the success of a wellness plan, while incorporating specific cost-saving strategies.

It’s a myth that older workers cost significantly more than younger workers, says AARP. And while such a conclusion might be expected from an advocacy group whose members fall into that demographic, it’s based on an empirical review of a variety of metrics for employee productivity and cost, including employee benefits.

Finding ways to deter painkiller abuse has been a high priority for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent years. And with opioid abuse costing U.S. businesses close to $26 billion a year, health plan sponsors should take note as well.

When saving for the future, many people opt focus on their children’s opportunities rather than their own. The College Savings Plan Network encourages employers to offer benefits options, such as a 529 college investment plan, to help their employees save for their children’s college educations.

A slew of hot-button topics, from health care to retirement, are being discussed in Washington –both on Capitol Hill and in the halls of the Supreme Court. As a result, it is imperative employers remain focused and aware of the looming decisions that could change the benefits community.

Forty percent of Americans aren’t receiving regular dental care – and it’s costing employers.

There are a number of reasons why employees leave their jobs — they’re bored and unchallenged, they don't get recognition for their work, they have a strained relationship with their manager — but they are all related to a single problem.