Word on Benefits

Average Deductibles This Open Enrollment Season

Staff

11 Sep 2018

With open enrollment season here, health insurance—and its costs—are hot topics. Wondering how your organization’s health care offerings compare to your peers’? A new report, Employee Benefits Survey: 2018 Results, examines the types of health care plans offered by employers, the average deductible […]

Opioid Crisis and the Workforce: A Firsthand Perspective

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

05 Sep 201821 Jan 2019

The opioid crisis has far-reaching impacts in both the United States and Canada, including the workforce. John S. Gaal, Ed.D., director of training for St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council, saw firsthand the impact opioid abuse has had on the construction industry […]

Employee Benefits Health Care

Group Medicare Advantage Plans—Tips for Plan Sponsors

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

30 Aug 2018

Although the number of retiree health plans has been declining in recent years, there are still plenty of employers looking for cost-effective and flexible options to cover retirees aged 65 and older. Medicare is available beginning at the age of 65, although […]

Health Care

Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Insurance: Not So Short Anymore

Lois Gleason, CEBS

22 Aug 201821 Aug 2018

Short-term limited-duration health insurance just got longer and less limited. What happened? On August 2, 2018, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services released a final rule on short-term limited-duration (STLD) health insurance, effective October 2, 2018. Why […]

Employee Benefits Wellness

Making Mindfulness a Workplace Priority

Teri Dougherty, CEBS

15 Aug 201815 Aug 2018

Of course your employees want to be 100% focused on each of the many tasks waiting to be tackled. BUT—They have to-do lists to conquer, projects to complete—and too few hours in the day! However, adding mindfulness exercises to their already-too-busy day […]

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans Defined Contribution (DC) Plans Employee Benefits Investments

What Plan Sponsors Need to Know About SRI Investing

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

09 Aug 201809 Aug 2018

Could offering sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investment options in your retirement plan be an employee recruitment and retention tool? Quite possibly, according to recent research. A 2017 survey by Nuveen showed that 57% of respondents (94% of Millennials) would choose an […]

CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist) Education Employee Benefits

CEBS—Graduating Is Just the Beginning

Christine Vazquez, CEBS

01 Aug 201806 Aug 2018

After a winter of hitting the books, I completed the CEBS program in March 2017. I couldn’t have been happier to see the “pass” notification on the computer screen after taking my last exam! After a few weeks of elation, celebration and binge-watching […]

Employee Benefits Paid Time Off (PTO) Talking Benefits Podcast

Is It Time to Rethink Your Bereavement Leave Policy?

Anne Patterson

31 Jul 201829 Oct 2019

It may be the most difficult challenge an employee will endure in their lifetime: Facing the death of a loved one. Through bereavement leave and employee assistant program (EAP) offerings, U.S. employers are providing support for workers during a devastating time, but […]

Employee Benefits Health Care

Thought the ACA Individual Mandate Was History? Think Again!

Kelli Kolsrud, CEBS

26 Jul 201812 Dec 2019

It was big Affordable Care Act (ACA) news at the end of 2017 when the newly enacted tax reform law included a provision to drop the individual mandate penalty to zero dollars starting in 2019. Although it wasn’t technically a repeal of […]

Employee Benefits

Elder Care Challenges: Why Employers Should Care

Anne Patterson

23 Jul 201826 Jul 2018

Each month on Talking Benefits, I join the International Foundations three resident benefits nerdthusiasts Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held to discuss the top stories in retirement and health care and take a deeper dive into a trending benefits topic affecting plan sponsors. […]