Word on Benefits

Putting #FamilyFirst with Employee Benefits

Anne Patterson

21 Mar 2016

The recent story of Chicago White Sox slugger Adam LaRoche walking away from a $13 million season contract after being told he had to limit the time his 14-year-old son, Drake, spent with the team (his father’s place of work), got us […]

Employee Benefits Human Resources (HR)

Workplace March Madness: Productivity vs. Morale

Neil Mrkvicka

16 Mar 201615 Apr 2019

According to a recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 51 million Americans—about 20% of the total U.S. workforce—plan to participate in workplace pools for NCAA basketball this year. And according to an earlier MSN survey, a much greater portion will spend […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cadillac Tax Employee Benefits

Delayed, Not Dead: ACA Cadillac Tax

Julie Stich, CEBS

14 Mar 201614 Mar 2016

This past December, Congress voted to delay by two years the Affordable Care Act (ACA) excise tax on high-cost health plans (known as the Cadillac tax). Plan sponsors breathed a sigh of relief. Does this mean the Cadillac tax is dead? No. […]

Canada Employee Benefits Retirement

Extra Year for ORPP Preparation

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

10 Mar 2016

The largest employers in Ontario have an extra year to prepare for the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), but questions remain about whether the provincial plan will give way to an enhanced Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Background Enhancing the […]

Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Wellness

Worth It Out This National Employee Benefits Day

Staff

08 Mar 2016

How financially fit are your employees? Well, according to a soon-to-be-released International Foundation survey, only 13% of you said your workforce was very or extremely financially savvy. This National Employee Benefits Day, April 4, it’s time to step up your participants’ fiscal fitness. […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Communication

Helpful IRS Employee Tax Tips About 1095 Forms

Lois Gleason, CEBS

04 Mar 2016

In January I shared sample answers to seven questions your employees might have about their 1095 forms. The positive response showed a lot of you are searching for plain language to help explain Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements to your employees. When […]

Education Employee Benefits

Making the Grade With Educational Assistance Programs

Justin Held, CEBS

03 Mar 201603 Mar 2016

The International Foundation’s recent Educational Assistance Benefits: 2015 Survey Results evaluated the most prevalent types of assistance/tuition reimbursement programs, characteristics of offerings, program requirements and limitations, and strategies and implications. The responses provided a number of key takeaways pertaining to educational assistance offerings. As […]

Communication Employee Benefits Health Care

Three Reasons You Should Consider One-On-One Benefits Communication

Staff

29 Feb 2016

In a new International Foundation Benefits Communication survey, only 19% of employers reported their employees have a high level understanding of their benefits. When asked why this is, employers overwhelmingly said their employees do not read the information they provide or they […]

Communication Employee Benefits

Benefits Communication Growing in Importance and Difficulty

Neil Mrkvicka

25 Feb 201625 Feb 2016

Half of all organizations responding to the Benefits Communication Survey say the number of participant questions they receive regarding benefits has increased in the past two years. Adding to the frustration, organizations identify their top challenge with benefits communication as participants not […]

Employee Benefits Wellness

Seven Ways to Combat Sitting at Work

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

22 Feb 201603 Jan 2018

Most adults spend too much time sitting, shortening their life span and increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. But today’s lifestyle is not conducive to being physically active. People may have a long commute, a desk job or a nightly TV-watching […]