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Benefits Think Tip of the Day: A penny earned is a dollar saved

I know that streamlining payroll efficiency likely is about as exciting as my last dental appointment. But what if I told you that reducing payroll errors potentially could save you hundreds of thousands? All of a sudden it sounds much more interesting, no? The Salvation Army's Chicago Metropolitan Division spent 70% of its time tied to manual data entry and was not only overspending because of calculation and transcription errors and omissions, but also was out

August 27

Benefits Think Overheard: If everyone comes to the table, were all going to get a little less

I recently had a great chat with John Erwin of CareNet, a company that helps insurers and doctors do the heavy lifting needed to build the medical home model. The medical home model is one of those things that makes so much sense that you slap your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Basically, the model involves making primary care doctors the cornerstone of the health care system, or as Erwin put it,

August 26

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Find wellness success with TCBY

Now, in my neck of the woods, TCBY is a frozen-yogurt chain that claims to make 'The Country's Best Yogurt.' Apparently, to EBN Contributing Editor Michael Puck, it means something completely different — and likely much better for your waistline and bottom line. To Puck, TCBY is the formula for succeeding with wellness programs. And while it certainly isn't as delicious, I'm betting it will be much more satisfying to your company's execs. Read his column

August 26

Benefits Think Overheard: Where are the jobs?

I hate to kick someone when they’re down — between the still slow economy, ongoing wars and the recent health care reform “town brawls,” it certainly was a brief honeymoon for President Obama — but a release I received recently from the Alliance for Worker Freedom got me thinking. The headline asked simply: What happened to Obama’s promise of jobs?

August 25

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Follow Facebook etiquette

As more employees perhaps among them your colleagues, clients or boss join the social networking site Facebook (as many older adults seem to be among the fastest-growing group of new enrollees), it was inevitable that etiquette issues may arise. Im no Emily Post, but I did crib some tips from OfficeTeams Robert Hosking on how to avoid Facebook faux pas:

August 25

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Your CEO doesn’t want to be your ‘friend’

No, not literally — just on Facebook. Don’t take it personally, though; it’s not that they don’t like you. It’s just that according to a survey from OfficeTeam, it seems they’re mostly just concerned about crossing the line between personal and professional. When asked, 'How comfortable would you feel about being 'friended' by the following individuals on Facebook?” nearly half of executives polled said they are uncomfortable being friended by the employees they manage (48%) or

August 24

Benefits Think News You Can Use: Will DC plan limits be reduced?

Over the last year, defined contribution plan participants likely have felt like they just can’t get a break. I’m sorry to say a little bird at Mercer tells me the savings outlook may not improve next year, depending on the results of a government calculation. Here’s the breakdown: Limits for DC and DB plans — including 401(k) deferrals and catch-up contributions — are adjusted each year based on an IRS calculation that, among other factors, takes

August 24

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Get ready for more ADA accommodations requests

Thanks to the new Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (Congress couldnt think of a shorter name?), employers may soon see a rise in the number of employees requesting workplace accommodations for a disability, the crystal ball watchers at Cigna predict. ADAAA, which took effect January 1, 2009, substantially broadened the definition of who may attempt to seek protection under the ADA, making it easier for an individual to establish that he or she is disabled

August 17

Benefits Think News You Can Use: Recession taketh, employers restore

The latest stat shot from Watson Wyatt shows that employers — perhaps sensing a reheating economy — are ready to thaw out some of those frozen salaries and 401(k) matching contributions that have been on ice most of the last year. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 33% of employers that froze salaries plan to show their love by unfreezing them within the next six months, up from 17% two months ago. Another 44% plan to

August 17

Benefits Think News You Can Use: New financial planning designation available

Math was never my subject in school – as evidenced by my chosen career – but I think given the economic conditions we’re living in, it wouldn’t hurt any of us to at least consider joining up with The American College to pursue its new Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation.

August 14

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Use your EAP to lessen MHP costs

Hey pros, you have less than two months to get prepped to comply with mental health parity legislation (going into effect Oct. 3). Although stats show that the costs to do so will be less than you may have thought, there may already be a tool in your belt to mitigate costs even further.

August 14

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Say it with me, “Comm-yoo-nih-cate”

I received a Watson Wyatt release yesterday that literally made me scratch my head and say, “What the …?” Let’s recap: Employers know that having employees who possess a firm understanding of their benefits makes good business sense, and even know that conducting in-person meetings helps them gain that understanding. However, not only do employers seem okay with letting them maintain a middling understanding of their benefits, the latest from WW reports that the majority of companies

August 13

Benefits Think Overheard: ‘You don’t need ulterior motives to jam’

What do ERISA and jam bands have in common? Not much…normally. But ERISA lawyer, Andrew L. Oringer, welded the two concentrations when he formed the band, Throw us a Rope, a nod to Ropes & Gray, LLP, the firm that spawned the budding talent and at which Oringer is a partner in their Tax & Benefits Department.

August 13

Benefits Think News You Can Use: Managers promote those who promote themselves

Although it doesn’t fully explain the wage-gender gap, new research from a University of New Mexico study could provide a small bit of insight into how and why it persists. UNM researcher Scott Taylor studied 251 managers and found that women were far less likely (three times less!) than men to accurately predict their coworkers’ perception of their work performance. Although women rated their own job performance highly compared to men in the study, they undercut

August 12

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Call it health insurance reform

In a town hall meeting yesterday in Portsmouth, N.H., President Obama changed the semantics, if not the strategy, of his health care agenda. In the first of three such gatherings scheduled for this week to discuss health care, the president stressed the importance of passing “health insurance reform,” rather than health care reform, as he’d said in other speeches.

August 12

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Tell your employees to work less

Yep, you read that right. Although employees find themselves working more hours 'off the clock,' thanks to Blackberries, iPhones and technology that allows them to connect to workplace servers from home, employers can be walking into a wage and hour minefield if they aren't careful. Brian Jackson, an attorney with labor and employment firm Fisher & Philips, says that employers need to track the time that employees spend responding to clients — phone calls, e-mails, etc.

August 11

Benefits Think News You Can Use: Younger workers saying, No way, 401(k)!

My colleagues at Money Management Executive (my moles within the investment management industry) gave me a lead this week on a Denver Post report that finds young employee-investors, having watched their parents and grandparents suffer from recent market declines, are much more risk-averse than their age might suggest – an attitude that is affecting their retirement planning.

August 11

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Good things come to those who wait

Hello, DD followers. I know I didn't live up to the 'Daily' in our title last week, and for that I sincerely apologize. To say the last several weeks have been a challenge would be a huge understatement, but I'm ready to make good, and have what I think is a great peace offering — a first look at EBN's August podcasts! Not yet promoted on the rest of the site, in the magazine or

August 10

Benefits Think Overheard: ‘Ear infections will bankrupt us’

Every so often I'll get an e-mail from former EBN Contributing Editor Richard Quinn, who recently launched his own blog, 'Quinn's Commentary.' His funny, incisive posts recently have taken aim at health care reform. One of the latest entries, 'Ear infections will bankrupt us,' is at once a humorous and sobering look at the current state of our nation's health care system, and where it could be headed under reform legislation. I highly recommend you click

August 10

Benefits Think Tip of the Day: Kick the tires on ETFs

Exchange-traded funds are poised for steroid-like growth over the next several years. So if you haven't yet kicked the tires and checked under the hood of ETFs, you better hop to it because the rubber is meeting the road. The mutual fund industry will be a shadow of its former self in just five years time, if the findings of a study by Novarica pan out, according to my colleagues at Money Management Executive

August 4