Benefits Communication ROI: FSA Enrollment

Better education leads to higher FSA enrollment, which saves employers money on taxes.

Good benefits communication can raise employee Flexible Spending Account enrollment by 20% or more, a recent study found. The benefits of an FSA may be obvious to the seasoned HR Director, but not all employees – or employers – know how valuable these accounts can be.

Both employee and employer enjoy significant tax savings when FSAs are used. Employees save on federal and FICA taxes, plus any additional state and local taxes on medical items paid for through their FSA.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on November 23, 2010

Financial Wellness Makes the “Mega-Trends” List

If you’re a student of employee wellness programs, and if you’re reading this blog, I can assume that you are, you might be interested in a recent Employee Benefits News Blog that breaks down the “7 Emerging

Mega-Trends That Will Change Wellness Communication… Forever.”

Financial Wellness

Financial Wellness is a Key Component of your Wellness Strategy

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Published by Joe Larocque on October 25, 2010

When It Comes to Benefits Communications, Choose your Words Carefully

Some interesting words of advice from Frank Luntz, the American political consultant and pollster at the EBN Benefits Forum & Expo.   “Communication matters, language matters,” said the Fox News Channel commentator and analyst in Boca Raton, Fla. “You can put all the effort into policies that you do, but if you don’t have the right words in the right order, then nobody understands it.”

Benefits Communications

Tips for Benefits Communications

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Published by Joe Larocque on October 7, 2010

The Guardian Weighs in on the Life Insurance Educational Challenge

Have you heard?  It’s Life Insurance Awareness Month…and soon it will be Open Enrollment.  Getting employees to focus on these issues, particularly the younger ones, can be a sizable challenge.  Guardian offered a few tips this month to help ensure employees recognize the need for life insurance and take advantage of workplace opportunities for coverage:

Benefits Communications

The Life Insurance Educational Challenge

  • Make sure that employees and family decision makers have easy access to educational materials and enrollment forms

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Published by Joe Larocque on September 28, 2010

Employees Taking on the Burden of Rising Health Care Costs

A new study was released by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that employees are continuing to shoulder a larger share of their health care costs.  Here are 5 key takeaways that give the substance of the report:

  • Since 2005, workers’ contributions to premiums have rose 47%, while overall premiums increased 27%, wages jumped 18%, and inflation spiked 12%;

    Higher Premiums, Less Comprehensive Coverage

  • U.S. workers saw the cost of their health care coverage jump by 14% over 2009 rates;

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Published by Joe Larocque on September 15, 2010

Financial Wellness – Breaking Down the Barriers to Adoption

In a new study conducted by the Personal Financial Employee Education Foundation (PFEEF) and Employee Benefits News (EBN), 70% of respondents thought that workplace financial education is important or extremely important to the overall level of productivity in their organization.

Other notable findings included:

  • 51% of employers surveyed saw an increase in employee wage garnishments
  • 42% of employers surveyed saw an increase in employee emergency loans
  • 34% employers surveyed saw an increase in employee requests for time off to deal with personal financial issues

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 27, 2010

The Latest Symptom of Poor Employee Financial Health – 401(k) Loans/Hardship Withdrawals

Fidelity Investments recently reported a drastic increase in 401(k) hardship withdrawals and loans during the second quarter this year. Over the last 12 months, 11% of active participants initiated a loan, up 2% from the year prior.  Some additional statistics offered by the study included:

Financial Wellness

Retirement Plan Loans Symptomatic of Financial Health Issues

  • During the second quarter, 62,000 participants initiated a hardship withdrawal, as compared to 45,000participants who initiated one during the prior quarter;

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 26, 2010

Benefits Communication Can Ease Impact of Plan Changes

Over half (53%) of large U.S. employers are making changes to their 2011 health plans in order to accommodate the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health.

Providers face rising health care costs but still must supply the legally required amount of care.  To do so, 63% of employers who are changing plan details have decided to raise the percentage that employees contribute to the premium, while 46% aim to raise out-of-pocket maximums.  Another 61% will be offering consumer-directed health plans, or CDHPs, which are a proven method of increasing consumer flexibility while cutting costs.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on August 24, 2010

Financial Wellness – A Key Hiring Criteria?

An amazing 60% of companies used candidates’ credit reports to help make hiring decisions in 2009, according to a recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) poll.

So, the natural question is why a credit score of all things would be used to evaluate a prospective employee?

One likely reason might be that employers worry that a poor credit score indicates a lack of responsibility that could ultimately translate into poor performance.

Credit score indicative of a poor performer?

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 23, 2010

Mercer: Benefits Communication Foremost Solution in Turnover

Benefits communication used to engage and retain employees as economy improves

Mercer recently announced the results of their Attraction and Retention Survey, covering over 320 employers this year. These are their most valuable findings:

Better economy means higher employee turnover. As the economy and job market continue to improve, 62% of companies think employee turnover will increase as well. When employees have more options, they are less likely to be loyal unless their company puts effort into keeping them.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on July 19, 2010