Managing Benefits Plans is the result of combining two newsletters into one, stronger report. Managers who oversee the enrollment, communications, and administration of employee benefits are the best subscribers to MBP. Titles include: HR Mgr., VP Benefits, Benefits Director, Personnel Director, Controller, CFO, et al. The goal of MBP is to provide readers objective, original data that can help them control the cost of their benefits plans without sacrificing quality. Structuring, maintaining, and enhancing successful employee benefits packages with the latest techniques and technical solutions available are covered in each issue. MBP also shows readers the latest trends in plan design, cost-cutting tactics, and much, much, more.
Department of Labor officials at a hearing this spring questioned practitioners who said health and welfare plans should be excluded from the departments proposed rule requiring certain fee disclosures to plan fiduciaries by service providers.
A growing number of employers are offering medical services in their workplaces in an effort to rein in rising health care costs, increase productivity, and encourage employees to focus more on wellness. Still, many employers are not using the onsite health centers to the extent they could to improve company health care outcomes, analysts told us.
When Dollar General was facing a 26 percent increase in its prescription drug costs following several years of double digit rises, it knew it had to do something. So the Scottsville, Ky.-headquartered company, with 8,000 stores primarily in the Southeast and Midwest and 75,000 employees (38,000 of whom were eligible for full-time benefits), took three steps to get its pharmacy drug costs in line.
Sluggish Housing Market Forcing Employers to Revamp Relocation Benefits, Analysts Say Studies Clash Over Use, Effectiveness of Consumer Driven Health Plans 20 Tips to Improve Benefits Department Operations Wellness, Intervention Key in Employers Health Care Cost-Control Strategy Employers Underestimate Role of Benefits in Employee Loyalty Worker Shortage Replaces Health Care Costs as Employers Top HR Concern
IRS Issues Final Rules on Employer Contributions to Health Savings Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service released final rules April 16 on certain employer comparable contributions to health savings accounts.
Effective April 17, when they were published in the Federal Register, the final rules apply to employer contributions made for calendar years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2009.
Employees and employers arent the only ones feeling the crunch of rising health care costs. A new study released by Fidelity Investments (Boston; www.fidelity.com) shows that a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2008 will need approximately $225,000 to cover medical costs in retirement.
Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers, Chicago, June 8-11; Las Vegas, Sept. 7-10. Contact: Registrar, University Conference Services, 800-864-2063; fax: 919-558-8845; www.ucs-edu.net
Health Care and Insurance PlansFinancial Management, Washington, D.C., June 11-13; New York City, Sept. 22-24. Contact: WorldatWork, 877-951-9191; fax: 480-483-8352; e-mail: info@worldatwork.org; www.worldatwork.org
Health Care and Insurance PlansDesign & Management; St. Petersburg, Fla., June 18-20; Salt Lake City, June 25-27. Contact: WorldatWork, 877-951-9191; fax: 480-483-8352; e-mail: info@worldatwork.org; www.worldatwork.org
Reduce Benefits Costs With a Cafeteria-Style Flexible Benefits Plan
Issue: A 250-employee company in the Midwest faced pressures on how best to cut health costs while meeting employee needs.
Managing Benefits Plans is part of...