Surveying Employees: What’s Gained from the “Inner-view”

November 29, 2011

Whether you’re trying to get feedback on a new employee benefit, employee morale, or about company management, employee surveys are typically the best way to gather voluntary data and opinions from your workforce.  The problem is how to get the employees to actually participate so you can get their inner-view.  According to PPI, a workplace assessment company, employees ask themselves this question before participating:  “Is this survey safe to answer, and is it worth my time?”  Some feel that their anonymity will be compromised, others fear retaliation from management for their comments, and many simply think the process is an exercise in futility, with HR gathering the information, but doing nothing with it. Continue reading “Surveying Employees: What’s Gained from the “Inner-view””

Do Employees Need (or Even Want) Help with Asset Allocation Decisions?

November 22, 2011

When it comes to investment planning, sometimes it pays to get a little help (or at least a second opinion).  But what are the best options for providing guidance to employees and how does online advice fit into the mix?  Retirement plan participants have a variety of options available when seeking help regarding their investment selections.  Professionally managed accounts, target-date mutual funds, online advice, and the use of financial advisors outside the retirement plan are some of the most common sources of investment guidance employees typically utilize.  While these tools are proven to be effective, there is still a need to increase usage rates in order to improve the confidence employees feel relating to the way their investments are allocated. Continue reading “Do Employees Need (or Even Want) Help with Asset Allocation Decisions?”

Thumbs Up to the Rules of Thumb

November 08, 2011

When ordering take-out last night for my family, I used a rule of thumb that when you order Chinese food, you should ask for one entree less than the number of people in the group to avoid unwanted leftovers.  Between the four of us, we split Chicken and Broccoli, Hunan Beef, and Sesame Chicken.  Even with only 3 entrees, we each got a second helping and our dessert of fortune cookies, and there were NO leftovers.

So how can employees consider rules of thumb during open enrollment season?  Continue reading “Thumbs Up to the Rules of Thumb”

What It Takes to Have a Winning Benefits Communications Plan for Your Employees

October 25, 2011

Congratulations to the most recent PSCA Signature Award Winners for 2011!  The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) announced the winners of their Signature Awards at a special presentation at its 64th Annual National Conference at The Mirage in Las Vegas last month, to honor excellence in plan communication and education.  This year, the Signature Award judges recognized 48 winners in 18 categories, based on how companies design, manage, and provide defined contribution communication and investment education to plan participants.  Signature Award judges carefully review how effective the campaign was at achieving its goals and I’m proud to say that 3 employers that I have worked closely with over the past few years, were recognized as 2011 Signature Award Winners. Continue reading “What It Takes to Have a Winning Benefits Communications Plan for Your Employees”

National Protect Your Identity Week

October 18, 2011

This week is National Protect Your Identity Week (PYIW), October 16th to October 22nd, 2011, so consider promoting this to your workforce.  Over 8 million consumers were victims of identity theft in 2010, so the odds are that your employees may have been a casualty of that statistic.  An employee that is dealing with identity theft is feeling financially stressed and distracted, and may be taking time during the workday to try to deal with the situation – leading to lost productivity.  Even worse, if the employee is a victim of medical identity theft, your group health plan could be impacted by false insurance bills from their imposter. Continue reading “National Protect Your Identity Week”

Taking Stock of Options and Awards

October 11, 2011

I recently spoke to a freshly minted MBA graduate who was so thrilled to have had landed her first job in this tough job market, but her icing on the cake was a sign-on bonus equal to ½ of her first year’s salary.  The catch to the bonus was that it was given to her in the form of a restricted stock award, so she had called me to find out the details.  She was very confused, because in addition to the stock award for the bonus, she is also eligible for a restricted stock matching program AND stock grants. Continue reading “Taking Stock of Options and Awards”

Nuisance Calls at Work

October 04, 2011

For the umpteenth time this year, I got a call last night from someone who is trying to track down my ex father-in-law.  The call came in on my business fax line (does anyone else even have a designated fax line anymore?) at 8:30 pm, and since my office is conveniently located 10 ft. away from my living room, I answered the call. Continue reading “Nuisance Calls at Work”

Open Enrollment: A Tale of a Lost Opportunity

September 27, 2011

It’s open enrollment season, and many employees are making the key decisions that will impact both their health coverage and tax situation for 2012.  Commonly, employees are seeing higher deductibles and co-pays, but are still not maximizing their ability to, not only cover this exposure, but to also shelter some of their income from taxes by utilizing an FSA or HSA. Continue reading “Open Enrollment: A Tale of a Lost Opportunity”

Roll Call: 24th Annual Benefits Forum and Expo 9/25 to 9/27

September 20, 2011

Employee Benefit News’ Benefits Forum and Expo is the largest event in the nation solely dedicated to employee benefits, so are you planning on attending?  If so, you’ll be among many senior benefits professionals who will be traveling to Dallas, TX next week.  I won’t be there myself, but make sure to look for the Financial Wellness at Work track on the conference agenda, which kicks off the day on Sunday, September 25th. Continue reading “Roll Call: 24th Annual Benefits Forum and Expo 9/25 to 9/27”

Back to School Season Brings Tuition Bills to Your Employees

September 13, 2011

It’s that time of year again.  Summer is coming to an end (already!) and college classes are starting.  You know what that means for your employees that are parents – time to start writing those checks!

Unfortunately, sometimes those checks have nowhere else to come from but their retirement accounts.  If you handle the day to day administration of your retirement plan, do you notice an uptick in hardship withdrawal and loan requests around this time of year?  If so, these looming college costs could be the culprit.  According to the College Board, the average tuition this year is almost $8,000 for an in-state public university, and that doesn’t even include room and board, books, and other typical costs. Continue reading “Back to School Season Brings Tuition Bills to Your Employees”

Eldercare’s Impact on the Workforce: The Hidden Cost of Caregiving

September 06, 2011

Last month, my in-laws came along for a weekend trip to Florida, and it gave me a very small taste of what many caregivers experience on a daily basis.  My father-in-law (Gene), who is in his early 70s, has diabetes, heart problems, and is severely overweight and because of these ailments, he has dietary limitations and needs help getting dressed and putting his shoes on.  To give my mother-in-law a break that weekend, we took her “off-duty” and my husband and I soon came to realize why she has been under so much stress lately. Continue reading “Eldercare’s Impact on the Workforce: The Hidden Cost of Caregiving”

Making the Decision: Which Pension Payout Option is Best?

August 30, 2011

I recently met with a multitude of pre-retirees for individual consultations who were contemplating an early retirement deal, so naturally part of the analysis revolved around their pension.  I was stunned at the amount of employees who, up until our in person meeting, had never gone online to run a pension estimate.  Of those who had already run their estimate, quite a few were still unclear about the various payout options and how to go about making the decision on which payout best fit their own situation.  The most common question I got was, “What do most employees pick?”  Although I was very tempted to bring up the old adage mom used to say that, “if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do that, too?”  I resisted, and instead, I stressed to them that it was a personal decision based on their own unique situation.  Here are the points I had the employees consider: Continue reading “Making the Decision: Which Pension Payout Option is Best?”

You Have HOW MUCH of Your 401(k) in Company Stock?

August 23, 2011

With the recent roller coaster ride of the stock market, many employees have taken a closer look at their asset allocation within their retirement plans, and to the surprise of many, they find their investment strategy is way off base. Continue reading “You Have HOW MUCH of Your 401(k) in Company Stock?”

Benefits Trends: Looking Ahead to the Future

August 16, 2011

Our insurance agent delivered the bad news last week – the company’s health insurance premiums are going up 19% next year.  To curb this huge cost increase, we either have to look at increasing the deductible or increasing the premium burden on our employees.  Because of Healthcare Reform, this will be a common scenario that many employers will face over the next few years.  Because of the new economic realities of escalating healthcare costs and an aging population (a few of my co-workers hit milestone birthdays that pushed them into the next higher age bracket), we’ve come to realize that balancing business costs and benefits needs is not just about spending more, it is about spending differently. Continue reading “Benefits Trends: Looking Ahead to the Future”

Benefits Trends: Looking Back the Past 5 Years

August 09, 2011

Over the last 5 years, there has been great progress in the employee benefits arena for new employees entering the workforce.  Auto enrollment into a DC retirement plan has increased from 32% back in 2007 to 41% in 2011.  The number of companies offering the Roth 401(k) option has doubled since 2007, from 16% to 31%, and this feature usually is most beneficial to the younger workforce who most certainly may face higher tax brackets in the future.  And for those companies that offer high deductible health plans, 1 in 5 now offer an employer contribution, up from only 1 in 10 in 2007.  These are all positive movements highlighted in the 2011 SHRM Employee Benefits Study when looking back at the trends from 2007 to today. Continue reading “Benefits Trends: Looking Back the Past 5 Years”

Retirement Plan Enrollment: How to Get More Employees in the Game

July 26, 2011

Do you have a population of employees that are still on the sidelines regarding participating in your retirement plan?  According to a recent study by Aon Hewitt, 76% of eligible employees participated in their company’s DC plan in 2010, which means that almost 1 in 4 employees ARE NOT participating!  It just amazes me that even with the popularity of auto enrollment, there are still so many employees not taking advantage of saving for retirement. Continue reading “Retirement Plan Enrollment: How to Get More Employees in the Game”

Don’t Be Fooled By the Grandparents Scam!

July 19, 2011

Since I specialize in workplace financial education, I typically write about what’s going on in the HR world.  But, last month something happened to my family that’s so shocking I just had to share our experience.  My father had just celebrated his 78th birthday, and my parents got a call from my 25 year old nephew, Matt.   Now, you may be thinking, “isn’t that nice that he’d call to wish his granddad a happy birthday,” but instead he told an elaborate story that went like this: Continue reading “Don’t Be Fooled By the Grandparents Scam!”

Obstacles to Benefits Communications

July 12, 2011

For the final installment of my four-part series, I want to focus on the last of 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”