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?”
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”
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”
I was traveling last week, cross-country, to facilitate a retirement preparedness workshop, so to fill the 2 hour layover I had at the airport, I found some interesting reading material from the Society of Human Resources Professionals (SHRM) on a report on their 2011 Employee Benefits Study. Here are some common benefits: Continue reading “Employee Benefits: How to Be a Cut Above the Rest”
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”
Last Friday, I talked about how each generation’s retirement income is increasingly at risk and the factors (longer life spans, shrinking pensions, uncertainty with Social Security, rising health care costs and declining investment returns) behind that trend. While all of these factors exist and are real reasons for concern, I also see hopeful signs out there as well. Today, and next Friday, I’ll talk about why I am hopeful and some of the things you can do, small things that may seem inconsequential, to take control of your financial life and buck the negative trends that I showed you last week. Continue reading “I WAS Officially Depressed, but Feeling Better Now”
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”
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”
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?”
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?”
Overwhelming stress takes its toll. Research shows that stress is the leading cause of disease and financial stress is the most common stressor. Imagine the feeling of not making ends meet and not having a safety net – no emergency fund and high debt so you feel like you may never get out of it. In our latest research, we studied stressed out employees who used our financial wellness assessment and found there were two things they all had in common — no emergency fund and high debt. Maybe it was the combination of the two that put them over the edge of “high stress” to “overwhelming stress.” Continue reading “Reduce Financial Stress with Clarity and Direction”
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”
I read a great column about the financial planning/financial advisory business recently. The column was a mock conversation between a financial planner (who wanted to look at the big picture before offering ANY advice and spoke mostly in financial industry jargon) and a prospective client (who was looking for VERY specific advice on several topics and immediate investment recommendations, “ Should I buy gold?”). Continue reading “Financial Advisors Speak Financial Mumbo Jumbo”
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!
