Word on Benefits

No Magic Pill to Cure Specialty Drug Costs (But Some Preventive Measures)

Julie Stich, CEBS

05 Jun 201808 Aug 2018

Employers and plan sponsors scrutinize the cost of their health care benefit plans with a keen eye. One area that causes major eye twitch is specialty prescription drugs. As reported by AARP, the retail price of specialty drugs increased by almost 10% […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

New Recipe for Health Care Purchasing Blends Savings and Quality

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

04 Jun 2018

What’s the best recipe for making sure your plan participants are receiving high-value health care? The old cookbook called for health plan sponsors to focus on getting the cheapest health care possible and using their leverage to convince providers to offer a […]

Behavioral Decision Making Communication Employee Benefits

Nudging Employees to Good Health Through Behavioral Economics

Staff

30 May 2018

We humans, despite our best intentions, often don’t make rational decisions when it comes to our own health. Just because we know what we should be doing—say taking a blood pressure medication daily or getting in 30 minutes of exercise most days […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Prescription Drugs Talking Benefits Podcast

The Costly and Complicated World of Specialty Drugs

Anne Patterson

25 May 201808 Aug 2018

Each month, the International Foundation’s three resident benefits nerdthusiasts Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held, meet to discuss the top stories in retirement and health care, the latest benefits hot topics, and take a deeper dive into a trending benefits topic. This […]

Employee Benefits Wellness

15 Technology Trends to Enhance Your Wellness Program

Robbie Hartman, CEBS

23 May 201823 Jan 2020

Employers want wellness programs that are robust yet cost-efficient, accessible yet secure, and the latest breakthroughs in digital technology can make these goals more easily achievable, writes Anna Mittag, vice president of operations at LifeSpeak, in “15 Technology Trends That Can Elevate […]

Disease Management Employee Benefits Health Care

The Second Most Expensive Health Condition: Considerations for Your Plan

Justin Held, CEBS

22 May 201822 May 2018

Readers are aware of the significant toll that cancer has on our society. We have all been touched on a personal level by cancer’s reach. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer is the second leading cause of deaths […]

Connecting Lost Participants to Retirement Accounts

401(k) Plans Employee Benefits Retirement

Connecting Missing Participants to Retirement Accounts

Lois Gleason, CEBS

15 May 2018

Plan administrators trying to terminate defined contribution retirement plans often find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The Department of Labor (DOL) requires they diligently search for and pay all participants and beneficiaries entitled to benefits. However, participants are not […]

Employee Benefits Wellness

Switching Gears With Bike to Work Benefits

Anne Patterson

14 May 201814 May 2018

A quick workout, parking problem solver, kindness to the environment, time saver—Many workers across the country are turning to a two-wheeled approach for their daily commutes. With National Bike Month well underway, my colleagues and I investigated what workplaces across the country […]

Canada Communication Employee Benefits Retirement

What Employees Want to Know About the CPP and QPP

Lois Gleason, CEBS

01 May 201820 Mar 2019

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are operated by the federal and provincial governments, so why would a human resources or benefits professional need to explain them to employees? Seasoned HR professionals know many employees seek them out […]

Canada Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Wellness Retirement

Top Reasons for RRSP Early Withdrawals

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

26 Apr 2018

Plan sponsors have a good idea of the financial struggles that employees are facing. But did you know that some people are turning to money saved in Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) for nonretirement needs? Why don’t they have an emergency fund? […]