Tag: Employee Benefits

HSA

More Employees are Opting for Consumer-Directed Health Care, Finds New Report

While the Affordable Care Act still faces uncertainty, employers are looking for ways to reduce their healthcare costs and offer employees healthcare benefits that meet their needs. A new report—released by Benefitfocus, Inc., a cloud-based benefits management platform and services provider— shows a continued shift toward consumer-directed health care, with the rate of employers offering at […]

Certifications

The Truth About Student Loan Assistance

It’s been heralded as the most attractive benefit – and the implication is that if your company were to offer it, you would have job seekers lining up at your door. But is student loan assistance a.k.a. student loan repayment really the next greatest thing?

Trump administration expands exemptions to ACA contraceptive mandate

On October 6, the Trump administration released two interim final rules that will vastly expand the availability of exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) rules requiring employer coverage of contraceptives. The ACA requires employers and insurers that offer group health plans to employees to cover certain approved contraceptive methods—at no additional cost to employees—or […]

FMLA

Ivanka Trump, senators advance ideas on paid family leave

by Tammy Binford As the idea to make paid family leave mandatory continues to gain attention, employers may be wondering what various paid leave proposals might mean for their businesses. A June 20 meeting between first daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and a handful of senators doesn’t draw a clear picture of what may […]

ERISA

Court Supports Plans’ Freedom to Craft Own Process for Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations, and disputes over them, can be a disproportionate drain of time and other resources spent by administrators of tax-qualified retirement plans. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not prescribe a particular manner by which participants in ERISA-covered plans must designate their beneficiaries.

Republican ACA proposal poses challenges for multistate employers

A group of Republican senators has proposed a replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would allow states to choose whether to keep Obamacare’s provisions in place. Because employers’ requirements would depend on where employees work, compliance could be a real challenge for companies with operations in multiple states, according to the Society […]

Nevada Supreme Court clarifies connection between healthcare coverage, minimum wage

by Deanna L. Forbush Nevada is unique in so many ways. For instance, unlike other states, Nevada has a constitutional provision that authorizes a two-tiered minimum wage. It’s called the Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA). Under the MWA, if an employer provides qualifying health benefits, a minimum-wage employee may be paid $1 per hour less than […]

‘Paw-ternity’ Leave: The Next Trend in Employee Benefits?

Employers everywhere are looking for new ways to attract and retain talent. While companies like Facebook and Apple® are offering to freeze its female employees’ eggs as a way to recruit more diverse talent, other companies are jumping on the crazy train and offering even weirder workplace perks. According to the Mirror, a new trend […]

benefits

Voluntary Benefits Help Employees Fill the Healthcare Coverage Gap

In its inaugural “State of Employee Benefits 2016” report, Benefitfocus found companies are altering their healthcare plan design to shift greater financial responsibility to employees via voluntary benefits, driving the need for a different approach to healthcare consumption. These benefits can be powerful tools in helping cover the costs associated with consumer-driven health care, says […]

Health Spending Accounts Are Underutilized by Millennial Employees

Millennial employees—18 to 34 years old—selected high deductible healthcare plans more than any other age group. However, while approximately 44% of employees in this group chose HDHPs, a much smaller number of these employees took full advantage of health savings accounts (HSAs), according to Benefitfocus inaugural “State of Employee Benefits 2016” report.