Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As an HR person, you care about people, says attorney Susan Fentin. Your impulse is to help; however, if the problem is driving the business down, you may not be able to help. You need to balance these sometimes-competing interests, and that’s not often easy. What are the issues when an employee is chronically ill? […]
Special thanks to all readers who participated in our surveys in 2013! (2014 surveys start soon.) Benefits: Health Insurance Preferred provider organization (PPO) plans are offered by 68% of survey participants, and health maintenance organization (HMO) plans are offered by 31%. High-deductible plans are a benefit for 35%, and point-of-service (POS) plans are available for […]
Plan sponsors have been waiting for details on rollovers within retirement plans to designated after-tax Roth accounts, and on Dec. 11, IRS issued new guidance that may prove beneficial. Among the clarifications and changes in Notice 2013-74 was an extension of the deadline for amending plans to incorporate in-plan Roth accounts. Now plans have until […]
McCormick, a consultant with Fallon Benefits Group in Atlanta, made her remarks at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas. Case Study in VBBD Some facts about the client: Global presence with more than 7,000 covered lives Employee population includes office staff, manufacturing, and drivers Average employee age: 45 years Very low […]
What is VBBD? It’s about taking a comprehensive approach to helping employees to be healthier—and helping the company to save money. McCormick, a consultant with Fallon Benefits Group in Atlanta, made her remarks at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas. What Are the Keys to VBBD? McCormick offers the following necessary […]
Employee assistance programs and certain “limited wraparound coverage” would be added to the set of “limited excepted benefits” exempt from most of the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, under proposed rules in the Dec. 24 Federal Register (78 Fed. Reg. 77632). The proposal also would make it easier for dental and vision benefits to […]
The act that gained her the most notoriety was her rule that all employees must report to work at the physical office—no more telecommuting. The move was met with disapproval in many quarters (although Donald Trump reportedly approved). Some called it a step backwards for flexibility in the workplace, especially for women, who often count […]
This infographic via Mercer shows that although US health benefit cost growth slowed again in 2013, employers expect the rate of growth in per-employee cost of coverage to increase in 2014. “The good news is that employers have already taken decisive action to slow cost growth so they will be in a better position to […]
According to the annual National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans by Mercer employers expect the rate of growth in the per-employee cost of coverage to rebound in 2014. View the infographic below for a summary of the findings.
On Dec. 16, the IRS issued clarifications on how the U.S. v. Windsor ruling on same-gender marriage affects the administration of cafeteria plans, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. IRS Notice 2014-1 is in the form of 10 questions and answers regarding midyear election changes, FSA reimbursements and contribution limits for HSAs and dependent […]