Category: Benefits and Compensation

This topic provides guidance on how to handle compensation issues in a way that attracts and retains the best talent and advances the strategic goals of your business. You get news and tips on what’s going on nationally and in the states, and updates on changes in regulations, possible governmental action, and emerging compensation trends.

Target-date Funds’ Popularity Heightens Transparency’s Importance

Nearly every defined contribution plan sponsor now offers target-date funds in its participant investment menu, as these funds, often named for the year a participant expects to retire, eliminate the need for employees to construct their own investment portfolio. A recently released white paper about TDFs examines plan fiduciaries’ uncertainly regarding what TDFs should contain […]

Green Circle Means Danger, Red Is Just Expensive

Red Circle employees indicate you are spending too much on compensation relative to the value of the jobs, says consultant Terry Pasteris, CCP, GRP, but Green Circles may set you up for a lawsuit. Pasteris’s comments came at a recent BLR-sponsored webinar. Red Circle employees are those who are paid over the maximum for the […]

More Delays in Health-reform Implementation; Oct. 1 Start for Exchanges Compromised

The federal agencies implementing health reform continue to delay aspects of roll-out, especially as they relate to state-based health insurance marketplaces (also called “exchanges”), which are supposed to be up and running on Oct. 1. The Obama White House announced on Sept. 27 that federally run health-insurance exchanges, required by health care reform, will not […]

How’s Your Comp System Doing? Metrics Tell the Tale

Why Are Compensation Metrics Important? Pasteris, who is president of TLMP Consulting Group, offered her tips at a recent BLR-sponsored webinar. She says that metrics help with the following: Knowing whether you are succeeding in following your compensation philosophy. For example, say you want to pay at the 75th percentile of the marketplace. You have […]

Q&A on Employee Benefits under DOMA Ruling

With the DOMA ruling so recent in our minds, employers have more unanswered employee benefits questions than ever before. Is it now illegal to tax healthcare benefits for a same-sex spouse? How should multi-state employers react if the final ruling comes down that only same-sex couples who reside in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages […]

Executive Pay Plan Design Considerations

Designing an executive pay plan requires a lot of facets to be considered, not the least of which is: how high should executive pay be? But the exact amount is far from the only consideration. How should an organization decide to pay executives? Is there a formula to use? Unfortunately, it’s seldom that simple, and […]

Holidays—What’s Happening? (And Are You Competitive?)

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: Which days will be paid holidays in 2013? In 2014? How will you handle Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays this year? Do you pay […]

4 Biggest Risks of Pay-For-Performance

Pay-for-performance programs are being implemented with increasing regularity by organizations today. The ability to see that direct correlation between an employee’s contributions and how much they are paid is appealing to employers and employees alike. However, it doesn’t come without risks. Here are 4 of the biggest risks employers face when implementing a new pay-for-performance […]

Advantages and Disadvantages—Team Goals vs. Individual Incentives?

Busch, whose remarks came at a recent BLR-sponsored webinar, is owner of HR Compensation Consultants, LLC. Here are her suggestions about team and individual incentives. What Are Team-Driven Incentives? Team-driven incentive are intended to foster a collaborative environment in which team members are focused on helping one another. They are: Based on a team’s performance. […]

Green Circles Are Dangerous, Red Circles Are Just Expensive

In yesterday’s Advisor, consultant Terry Pasteris offered guidance on compensation metrics; today, dangers of Green Circles plus an introduction to the compensation guide that puts federal and state regulations at your fingertips. Red Circle employees indicate you are spending too much on compensation relative to the value of the jobs, says consultant Terry Pasteris, CCP, […]