March 12, 2010

HR Fact Friday: Nearly 25% of Workers Put Retirement Plans on Hold

Filed under: Benefits, Retirement — Tags: , , , — Paul @ 8:46 am

Almost one in four workers in an Employee Benefit Research Institute survey postponed plans to retire this year, with 29% of those citing the poor economy as the reason.

The key other reasons cited by the 24% who put off retirement plans included a change in employment status, 22%; inadequate finances, 16%; and the need to make up stock market losses, 12%, according to EBRI’s 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, released Tuesday, March 9.

Also, only 69% of workers and their spouses this year reported having saved for retirement, down from 75% in last year’s survey.

Still, 16% of workers said they were very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement this year, up from 13% during the previous year. Twenty-seven percent this year said the total value of their savings and investments in general, excluding the value of their primary home and any defined-benefit plan, were less than $1,000, and 54% said the total value was less than $25,000. Annuities or other guaranteed-income product were purchased by 14% of retirees, and 11% of workers said they were very likely to do so.

“Americans’ attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010,” said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI research director and a co-author of the survey, in a news release. “Unfortunately, while their attitudes are stabilizing, their preparation for retirement is not. A distressing number of people have no savings at all.”

The survey, based on telephone interviews in January with a total of 1,153 workers and retirees age 25 and older, was conducted by EBRI and research firm Mathew Greenwald & Associates.

Source: Workforce.com, Doug Halonen of Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Workforce Management.

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December 11, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Offer Benefits? Don’t Forget Wellness

Filed under: Benefits — Tags: , , , , , , , — Paul @ 8:41 am

For each of the last 7 years, MetLife has conducted a huge employee benefits trends study, and data from 2008, including responses from over 1,500 benefits decision makers and 1,300 employees, have just been released. The global company, which provides insurance, employee benefits, and financial services, stressed wellness programs in its report on the study results.

Financial and physical health intertwined. Some of the statistics offered are surprising and disturbing:

  • 59% of people who assess their medical health as fair or poor say they live paycheck to paycheck, compared to 34% of people in very good or excellent health.
  • 70% of people who rate their health as fair or poor are very concerned about making ends meet, compared to 52% of people whose health is very good or excellent.
  • 76% of people who see their health as fair or poor are very concerned about affording health care in retirement, compared to 57% of those in very good or excellent health.

Interestingly, however, the employees who assess their health as fair or poor have healthcare coverage through their employers at nearly the same rate as those who say their health is very good or excellent. So the connection between poor health and tight finances is in no way limited to people without healthcare insurance.

How well are wellness programs? Given that 94% of surveyed employers agree that wellness programs can be at least somewhat effective in reducing medical costs, MetLife researchers expressed some disappointment that the number of employers offering such programs is growing so slowly. Only one-third (33%) of respondents offered wellness programs in late 2008, up from about one-fourth (27%) in late 2005. And, even among organizations employing more than 500 people, the portion offering such programs is only 57%, up from 46% in 2005.

The MetLife study showed that nearly half of employees participate in programs offered by their employers. But here’s the payoff: They don’t do so primarily to earn incentives or avoid penalties but simply to maintain good health. The older they are, the more likely they value the health benefits, while incentives are more important to the youngest workers.

Source: HR.BLR.com (12/10/2009)

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November 6, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Survey Finds Service Requirements for Joining 401(k) Easing

Filed under: Benefits, Retirement — Tags: , , , , , — Paul @ 10:18 am

Employers are improving access to their 401(k) plans, according to a survey released Wednesday, November 4.

The Hewitt Associates Inc. survey of 300 midsize to large employers found that 74 percent of 401(k) plans do not have a service requirement, up from 61 percent in a comparable survey Hewitt conducted in 2007.

In addition, looking at plans with employer matching contributions, 56 percent of plans in 2009 did not have any service requirements for participants to receive the match, up from 44 percent in 2007.

On the other hand, 10 percent of employers have suspended their matching contributions during the past two years, the survey found.

Employers continue to move away from investing matching contributions exclusively in company stock. Just 17 percent of employers do so, down from 23 percent in 2007 and 45 percent in 2001.

That downward trend coincided with the collapse of one-time energy giant Enron Corp.

Enron matched employees’ deferrals exclusively with company stock and barred employees until age 50 from divesting those shares, leaving thousands to watch helplessly as the value of their shares plunged to virtually nothing.

The survey found a big increase in the number of employers offering an automatic enrollment feature.

Such programs are geared to those employees—typically new hires—who don’t indicate whether they want to enroll in their employer’s 401(k) plan. With automatic enrollment, those employees are enrolled unless they specifically object.

In 2009, 58 percent of employers offered automatic enrollment, up from 34 percent in 2007 and 19 percent in 2005. Of those employers using automatic enrollment, 69 percent default employees into a target-date fund, up from 50 percent in 2007.

The funds are so named because the investment mix is adjusted over time, with a more aggressive allocation for funds with retirement target dates further in the future and more conservative asset allocations for retirement dates that are closer.

A summary of the survey, “Trends and Experience in 401(k) Plans,” is available online at www.hewitt.com.
Source: Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management

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October 8, 2009

October is National Work & Family Month

Filed under: Benefits, General HR Buzz, Work/Life Balance — Mike @ 5:29 am

WorldatWork and Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP), sponsors of National Work & Family Month, encourage all workplaces to take time this month to communicate and celebrate the progress already made on the journey to creating healthier and more flexible work environments, and then raise the bar to accomplish even more in the coming year.

“Work-life is good for business,” says Kathie Lingle, WLCP, executive director of AWLP. “Dedicating a month to this aspect of overall people strategy helps employers increase the attraction, retention, productivity and engagement of the talent required for organizational success. It reminds both employees and employers of the exchange relationship that connects their mutual needs, interests and satisfaction.”

Evaluate your company’s existing work-life program to reveal strengths and weaknesses by taking the Work-Life Self Audit here

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August 21, 2009

HR Fact Friday: COBRA Enrollment Doubles After Launch of Subsidy Program

Filed under: COBRA — Tags: , , , , , — Paul @ 6:54 am

Enrollments in COBRA (health continuation coverage) rose from less than 20% to nearly 40%  since the U.S. government enacted a new subsidy program, according to a report by Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm.

Signed into law in February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for a 65% subsidy for COBRA continuation premiums for up to 9 months for workers who have been involuntarily terminated. To qualify for the subsidy, individuals must have a qualifying event for COBRA coverage that is the employee’s involuntary termination during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009.

Hewitt looked at COBRA enrollment activity for 200 large employers both before and after the enactment of the program. From March 2009 to June 2009, monthly COBRA enrollment rates for Americans eligible for the subsidy averaged 38%, up from 19% for the period of September 2008 through February 2009.

Hewitt estimates that without the subsidy, the average worker would spend $8,800 a year in COBRA healthcare costs. With the subsidy, the average worker would spend about $3,000 a year.

Source: HR.BLR.com 8/19/2009

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July 20, 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases Data on Retirement Plans

Filed under: Benefits, General HR Buzz, Insurance — Mike @ 11:12 am

 

The U.S. Government Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the third issue of Program Perspectives.  This is a new publication designed to showcase the latest statics from BLS programs.

The report, which focuses on retirement programs, is an easy-to-read summary of access, participation and take-up rates by employees in different retirement programs, employer cost for retirement programs and other useful information.

Read the full, 4-page report here.  And remember, HRN Management Group offers comprehensive Employee Benefits Analyses utilizing a number of national resources to assist clients in maintaining a competitive benefits program.

 

 

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July 13, 2009

Despite California Supreme Court Ruling Domestic Partners Retain Workplace Rights

Filed under: General HR Buzz, Insurance — Tags: , , , , — Jane @ 9:27 am

The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling upheld Proposition 8, which denies same sex couples the right to marry.  However that ruling does not affect registered domestic partners’ state workplace rights which are quite similar to those of heterosexual couples.

The California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act provides that registered domestic partners “have the same rights, protections, and benefits provided to married couples.”   Therefore such same sex couples would be entitled to rights under California’s family leave law, paid family disability leave, kin care, and discrimination laws.

(more…)

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April 17, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Despite Recession, Workplace Wellness Programs Continue to Grow

Filed under: Benefits — Tags: , , — Paul @ 7:58 am

Employers are continuing to add workplace wellness programs despite the ongoing recession, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health.

 

Nearly 58% of companies surveyed offer lifestyle improvement programs, up from 43% in 2007, and 56% offer health coaches, compared with 42% two years ago, according to the survey of 489 large U.S. employers conducted in January.

 

However, employee participation remains low.

 

Forty percent of companies surveyed said less than 5% of their workers participate in a weight-management program offered. Financial incentives do help drive participation in smoking-cessation and weight-management programs, the employers reported.

 

Supporting the trend data in the small business sector, HRN began a wellness program in 2008 by offering to pay a percentage of employee gym memberships. Approximately 20% of HRN employees are taking advantage of the benefit.

 

Source: Workforce.com

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April 3, 2009

HR Fact Friday: 60% of Older Workers Delay Retirement

Filed under: Retirement — Tags: , , , , — Paul @ 10:35 am

While the economic crisis is being felt by nearly every segment of the working population, one group of workers is faced with particularly tough decisions regarding their futures. 60% of workers over the age of 60 say they are putting off their retirement because of the impact of the financial crisis on their long-term savings, according to a survey by recruitment firm CareerBuilder.  The survey was conducted among more than 8,000 full-time U.S. workers ages 18 and over between Nov. 12 and Dec. 1, 2008.

(more…)

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March 23, 2009

Medical Tourism: The Next Employee Benefit?

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , — Jane @ 1:55 pm

You may have noticed recent news stories regarding Americans who have traveled to foreign countries, often India, Latin America, or Thailand for expensive surgeries. These individuals are either uninsured or underinsured and can save significant amounts of money by traveling abroad for medical procedures. As you might guess, medical tourism hasn’t gone unnoticed in corporate America.

(more…)

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