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With the cost of specialty drugs going up, guest blogger Karrie Andes suggests plan sponsors need to be more proactive about asking their health plans and pharmacy benefit managers about cost containment strategies.
Offering a 401(k) plan to employees is only half the benefit; sponsors need to design plan features to maximize enrollment and communicate the advantages of the plan. With strong plan construction and sound communication and financial education campaigns to support it, employers can help workers save and plan adequately for retirement. Based on suggestions from a Diversified retirement white paper and from Kristi Mitchem, senior managing director and head of global defined contribution for State Street Global Advisors, EBN has compiled seven tips for plan sponsors to help engage employees in retirement saving and planning.
Benchmarking data can be misleading if not used carefully so make sure to look at what, how and types of information included.
Contributing Editor Cindy Bucher maintains that parents of young employees can be invisible stakeholders in your benefits plan.
Contributing Editor Robert Lawton outlines five steps to being a better retirement plan fiduciary.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act imposes a new tax on health insurance providers in 2014. While insurers are responsible for paying it, plan sponsors should care about it because it could be passed down to fully insured group plans in the form of higher premiums.
Defined benefit plan sponsors may believe that outsourcing their plan administration must be much more expensive or that it wont allow them to maintain their current actuary or investment manager. Other times, they think that the DB systems wont match up to their defined contribution counterparts. Neither are necessarily true.
What do you say to employees when they start asking you whether they should participate in your company's health insurance plan or enroll in the state exchange? Guest blogger Ed Bray shares his thoughts.
The results of the November election will dramatically affect major employee benefits issues, most notably health care. No matter who wins the White House, the makeup of Congress after the elections could also significantly influence how employers manage their workplace benefits. Chantel Sheaks, a principal in government relations with Buck Consultants, outlines how the most likely scenarios could determine benefits strategy for plan sponsors.
Mercer sees shared services taking over employee support functions as HR serves business leaders.
The move would cost taxpayers and covered workers $1.7 billion to maintain funding commitments, but could prove more stable in the long run.
Or any money, for that matter. Guest blogger Karrie Andes shares details about a company that can help employers help employees understand the intricacies of the post-retirement health benefits landscape. The best part? It won't cost you anything!
Guest blogger and benefits practitioner Ed Bray shares the lessons he learned from failing to understand his audience's needs before sending out vital 401(k) plan communications.
Guest blogger Ed Bray shares how he overcame his fear of public speaking and learned the importance of effectively communicating benefits information.
Evidence on using outcomes-based incentives is not yet adequate, and creating large premium differentials could discourage employees from enrolling in medical plans, says guest blogger Karrie Andes.
Guest blogger Karrie Andes embarks on a relationship with electronic data interchange. It's far from perfect, but she shares five relationship lessons including commitment, honesty and money that will make for a more successful partnership.
Some HR terms and buzzwords are overused and ineffective to communicate benefits information to employees and report to executives. EBN readers shared benefits vocab or phrases they despise on our LinkedIn Group and on Twitter. What HR word or concept would you add to the list? [Images: Thinkstock]
An Employee Assistance Program is a free benefit that can offer employees (and often household members) significant value in their daily lives, but is often misunderstood. Guest blogger Ed Bray shares his top 5 reasons to remind employees about the complete value of a companys EAP program (beyond problem resolution) and to promote its use.
Guest blogger and director of Employee Benefits for Hawaiian Airlines, Ed Bray, shares four suggestions for starting a new benefits position on the right foot. Learned over 10 years of experience, he advises HR peers on how to feel welcome, secure, and successful in their first few months.
Like so many things, in benefits and in life, there are two sides to every coin. For example, while new 408(b)(2) regulations governing service-fee disclosures are expected to help retirement plan sponsors determine fee reasonableness and assess conflicts, once the July 1 deadline passed, the burden of responsibility shifted to the employer.