As part of my four-part series, I’ve been exploring what I see as the four key reasons why employers do not prioritize benefits education, even though the majority of employers are very eager to increase employee satisfaction with their benefits package. These four reasons are: Continue reading “Obstacles to Benefits Communications”
This month, I’ve been explaining the four key reasons that I have discovered on why employers do not prioritize benefits education, even though the majority of employers are very eager to increase employee satisfaction with their benefits package. These four reasons are: Continue reading “Obstacles to Benefits Communications”
Last week I wrote about a recent study that revealed a decline in employee perception of the value and satisfaction level of employer-provided benefits. Over the next month, I will explore the four key reasons that I have discovered on why employers do not prioritize benefits education, even though the majority of employers are very eager to increase employee satisfaction with their benefits package. The four reasons are: Continue reading “Obstacles to Benefits Communications – Part 1”
According to a recent study by Prudential, many employees’ perceived value and satisfaction with their benefits is declining. Based on the fifth annual Study of Employee Benefits: Today and Beyond, 45% of plan participants who were polled stated that their level of benefits has decreased this year, and only 38% think their employer offers a wide range of benefits (down from 55% in 2007). Specifically, employees feel they are receiving fewer benefits from their companies and paying more for the ones that are being offered. Continue reading “Are Employees Feeling Dis-satisfied with Their Benefits?”
The secret to a good retirement planning strategy can be found in Las Vegas, but not at the poker table. The SHRM 2011 Annual Conference and Exposition kicks off on Saturday, June 25th at the Las Vegas Convention Center and promises to be loaded with practical tips, informative HR sessions, new innovations, and networking opportunities – not to mention nonstop entertainment, Vegas style. Continue reading “Could Vegas Hold the Answer to Your Employees’ Retirement Jackpot?”
It is hard not to hear about the pending doom and gloom forecast for the baby boomers approaching retirement. I was standing in line waiting to pick up my rental car last week and the flat screen TV on the wall had CNN reporting about how boomers “don’t even know what they are going to end up doing” since many are unprepared to face retirement and that Social Security and Medicare may fail as a safety net for the boomers. The irony is that I was on my way to facilitate a workshop on Retirement Readiness for a company that is proactively preparing their workforce to have a financially secure retirement, bucking the trend of many employers who are putting more of the burden on the workers to save for their own retirement. So what is the answer to having your employees take charge of their own futures and focus on building a sizeable retirement nest egg? Continue reading “Can We Stall the Coming Retirement Crisis?”
I recently got a call from an employee who wanted to know if it made sense to use some of his retirement plan funds to purchase a life insurance policy. My answer to him? “Let’s walk through the pros and cons.” Continue reading “Should an Employee Buy Life Insurance with Their Retirement Plan?”
Less than 1 in 5 workers today have a traditional pension these days, so those that do have a pension should be very appreciative, right? Well, not if they aren’t even aware they have a pension! I meet with thousands of employees each year who are fortunate enough to work for companies that still offer a company-funded pension, yet they don’t even know how lucky they are and don’t realize they are accruing a pension benefit for retirement by just coming in to work every day. I’m sure when they were hired, their new employee handbook had details about the pension, and they may even get a yearly statement mailed to them, but do they really understand what it means to them? Continue reading ““I Have a Pension? I Didn’t Realize That.””
An email in my business inbox this morning promises that I have been randomly selected to win 350,000 euros and all I have to do is provide my full name, age, and address. As tempting as it is, I delete the message, but how many other employees might be tricked into responding? These phishing emails are becoming more common, and much more sophisticated. It used to be an Arabian Prince who was banished from his kingdom needed your help to recover his millions, and in return he would share some of his wealth if you just let him use your bank account to channel his money. Continue reading “Educating Employees on Avoiding Identity Theft and Other Fraud”
Now that Kate Middleton is officially the Dutchess of Cambridge, many of your workers are probably still in the midst of planning their own royal weddings as we enter the most popular months for weddings – May and June. We Americans certainly don’t spend as much as the multi-million pound price tag of the Westminster Abbey royal ceremony, but we do spend an average of $20,000 on our own version of the wedding fairy-tale. As the magic day approaches, your female workers might spend as much as 25% of their workdays planning their weddings, and my guess is the pending grooms spend less than a minute of their days even thinking about the event until the bachelor party begins. Continue reading “It’s Wedding Season – Are Your Workers Daydreaming About Their Fairy-tale Day?”
Over 11,000 companies offer their employees some type of ESOP, which stands for Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Typically, an employer will offer the ESOP as all or part of the retirement plan for its workers as an incentive for company loyalty, higher productivity, and greater employee participation in the workplace – but many employees are not familiar with the ins and outs of how an ESOP operates. Continue reading “The ABCs of an ESOP”
Since I had to write a big check to Uncle Sam last week, I wanted to share my family’s experience with unreimbursed employee expenses and the unintended impact it could have on you and your employees.
There are two ways an employer can choose to pay employees in order to reimburse them for out of pocket expenses for costs dealing with overnight travel, business use of their vehicle, home office use, and other business related expenses. Continue reading “Reimbursing Employees for Business Expenses: Tax Benefit or Tax Bomb?”
I had the sad task of attending my husband’s cousin’s funeral this past weekend, and it really brought to light the fragileness of life. Dave (my husband) and his cousin were born in 1961, and would have been celebrating their 50th birthday together this year. Even worse, he leaves behind a wife and 2 sons who are in shock both emotionally and financially. Continue reading “Employee Communications: The Importance of Estate Planning”
As I was conducting a workshop last week focusing on health insurance coverage, an employee asked if he could put additional money in his Health Savings Account (HSA) above and beyond what the employer contribution was. “Of course!!” I said, and even better, if he made the contribution prior to April 18th it could be used as a deduction for his tax return NOW. So it got me thinking about other tips that could be shared with employees over the next few weeks to help them muster through the chore of doing their taxes and save a few extra bucks. Continue reading “Employee Communications: Last Minute Tax Tips”
Every year, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) recognizes a National Employee Benefits Day, and this year’s theme is on communicating employee benefits. Continue reading “Celebrate National Employee Benefits Day on April 4th!”
The 401(k) is celebrating its 30th birthday this year – I wish I could say the same for my birthday next week! I wasn’t quite old enough to be in the workforce back in 1981 (I was in junior high) when the first 401(k) was conceived by Ted Benna, a fellow Pennsylvanian like myself. As I age I’ve gained wrinkles, a few grey hairs, and a few extra pounds. As the 401(k) has matured, we’ve seen the growth of auto enrollment, auto escalation, target funds, and even the Roth option.
So why are some employees still not taking advantage of the 401(k) opportunity? I hear excuses ranging from “I can’t afford to contribute,” “I don’t have faith in the stock market,” to “I plan to eventually after I’m sure I will be staying at my job.” These are employees that could have been getting matching money over the years but just don’t realize how much that means to their bottom line. I have actually spoken to a few employees who thought they WERE contributing, but they were NOT! Try this trick that a client of ours used a few years ago as an eye-opener: Mail a dummy 401(k) statement with a zero balance to all your employees that are not actively participating in your plan. I guarantee you will get at least a few calls from those workers that thought they were contributing and they are calling wondering why they don’t have any money in their account!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on a roadshow of workshops across the country, talking to groups of pre-retirees about health insurance coverage in retirement. These particular employees are very fortunate, since their company sponsors a group retiree medical plan, and actually still subsidizes a majority of the cost.
Even so, many of these employees still experienced sticker shock when they found out the cost of the medical coverage and had not even considered the impact on their retirement income. We also spent some time reviewing how much Medicare will cost, what it covers, and how their retiree health plan will coordinate with Medicare once they reach age 65. Continue reading “Benefits Communications: Understanding Retiree Medical and Medicare Coverage”
A school district in Minnesota recently announced an early retirement incentive program to entice their most senior (and highly paid) teachers to retire in order to replace them with less experienced teachers with lower salaries. The program has an interesting twist – if at least 10 teachers take the buyout, each will receive $15,000 but if at least 15 accept, then they will each receive $20,000. I can imagine a bit of peer pressure will be felt by those teachers who are on the fence about taking the bait.
How do I know these details? One of the teachers eligible for this early retirement incentive attended a workshop I was facilitating at her husband’s place of employment, where I happened to be discussing details on Retiree Medical and Medicare coverage (which happens to be next week’s subject I’ll cover). Continue reading “Early Retirement Buyouts: A Good Idea for Who?”
The other day, after a series of workshops on retiree health care for one of our clients, I decided I needed to unwind. It was time to rid my mind of HR issues completely, and enjoy some mindless entertainment. So, I’m in the hotel room flipping through the channels, when I come across the latest season of American Idol. The perfect way to unwind and get out of my own head! Or so I thought. It worked for about 10 minutes, then out of nowhere, it hit me: Continue reading “What HR Can Learn From American Idol: A Personal Account of the Most Brutal (and Effective) Interview Process I Ever Went Through”
Employees are grossly unprepared for retirement, and employers are growing increasingly concerned about the cost of delayed retirement, which is estimated to be $10,000-$50,000 per year for every year an employee postpones retirement. The implications of this problem are huge, making it the second most pressing issue HR departments are facing, after health care. Continue reading “Where Do Your Employees Stand Regarding Retirement Preparedness?”
