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Benefits 

Top Stories

Front Page News

Employers Hold the Line on Health Benefit Cost Increases
In 2009, employer-provided health coverage saw the lowest annual increase in a decade, thanks in large part to wellness management programs and the growth of consumer-directed plans. More

Employers Group Offers Mixed Appraisal of Senate Health Bill
The Senate health care reform bill, which would ultimately be merged with the House-passed health care measure, addresses several important concerns of employers. But "significant improvements are still necessary to protect and preserve employer-provided coverage,” according to the American Benefits Council. More

Most Employers with Consumer-Driven Plans Prefer HSAs
Among U.S. employers that offer an account-based health plan, health savings accounts (HSAs) continue eclipse health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). A new study also looks at motivations for adopting or avoiding these consumer-driven plans, and at employer contribution levels. More
 

Cutting Health Costs Is Top Reason for U.S. Wellness Programs
Boosting productivity is the goal behind employer-sponsored wellness programs in five of seven regions of the world, although in the U.S. it’s a way to cut health care costs and in Asia it’s a morale-boosting tool, according to a new global survey. More

Agencies Asked to Revise GINA Limits on Health Assessments
If health plans are prohibited from offering participants incentives to complete confidential health risk assessments that include family medical histories, these programs will be less effective, an employers' group warns. More

DOL Withdraws Investment Advice Rule
On Nov. 19, the Department of Labor (DOL) officially withdrew the final rule on providing investment advice to defined contribution plan participants, issued by the Bush administration in January 2009. DOL indicated it intends to release for comment a new, more restrictive rule sometime in the future. More 

IRS Provides Relief to Hybrid Pension Plan Sponsors
The IRS issued Announcement 2009-82 providing plan sponsors of hybrid defined benefit pension plans—including cash balance plans—with a one-year reprieve to comply with forthcoming interest rate rules. More

SHRM: Rethink Paid Leave Mandate
A SHRM member tells a Senate committee that an inflexible approach to mandating paid leave might cause conflicts with existing regulations. More

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H1N1 Swine Flu: News & Resources
SHRM Online presents links and summaries to the information you need to know, with frequent updates.
Go to the H1N1 Flu web page 
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Where are the latest articles on compensation and monetary rewards? They are posted in SHRM Online's Compensation Discipline!

Daily Newswire

For full links/summaries to some of the best new comp/benefits stories on the web, click here. Highlights:

Reform Won't Rein in Health Care Costs; Employers Can (BusinessWeek)

Senate's Health Care Bill Revises Employer Mandate (CNNMoney.com)

DOL Withdraws Investment Advice Rule (Department of Labor)

Mammogram Coverage Won't Change, Insurers Say (USA Today)

 Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform (New York Times)  

Recently Posted
News and Features                        

BENEFIT TRENDS:

 'Holistic' Approach Recommended for Benefits Enrollments

 Fewer U.S. Companies Having Holiday Parties

 More Companies Plan to Unfreeze Salaries, Restore 401(k) Matches

HEALTH CARE:

Employer Contributions Shifting in Consumer-Driven Health Plans

Congress Weighs COBRA Subsidy Extension

HIPAA Enforcement Rule Revised to Reflect Increased Penalties

 Forecast: Health Care Costs Over $10,000 per Employee Plus One

Rx Trends: Employers Crunch Data, Add Clinical Management to Pharmacy Programs

WELLNESS:

 Fairness and Wellness Incentives

EEOC: Risk Assessment Can't Be Prerequisite to HRA Reimbursement

 Do Your Health and Wellness Plans Violate GINA?

 Size and Scope of Wellness Incentives Grow Larger

RETIREMENT--DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS:

 50-Somethings Lack Adequate Retirement Savings, Study Warns

 Retirement Investing: No Gender Gap in Portfolio Performance 

Automation, Lower Fund Fees, Advice Becoming Standard in 401(k)s

 Caterpillar Agrees to Pay $16.5 Million to Settle Excessive 401(k) Fee Claim

RETIREMENT--DEFINED BENEFIT PLANS: 

Overfunded ERISA Plan Bars Participant's Claim Against Fiduciaries  

 Global Pension Index Ranks U.S. 'Below Average'

U.S. Employers Face Big Pension Funding Tabs Without Relief

 Pension Tension: Seven Critical Questions Facing Plan Sponsors

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

 Avoid Common Myths When Coordinating FMLA and STD Leave

 FMLA Amendments Signed by President

 Does FMLA Apply When Employees' Children Get H1N1?

SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS 

 Group Legal Plans Help with Personal Financial Challenges

 Dental Benefits Under-Valued Without Effective Communications

SHRM RESEARCH REPORTS:

SHRM 2009 Employee Benefits Survey Report

  SHRM 2009 Employee Job Satisfaction Survey Report

 SHRM Examining Paid Leave in the Workplace Survey Report

SHRM Health Care Benchmarking Study: 2008 Executive Summary

Note: SHRM Online's full archive of benefits articles can be accessed via the list of benefits topics on the upper left side of this web page.

 Webcasts


Upcoming Webcasts: 

Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. ET
Are You Ready for GINA?
Presenter: Steven J. Pearlman (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
The Genetic Information Nondiscrination Act (GINA) has been called "the first civil rights law of the 21st century." Employment provisions of the new law go into effect on Nov. 21, 2009. In this 90-minute program, which qualifies for 1.5 strategic HR recertification credits, Steven J. Pearlman of Seyfarth Shaw examines the implications this statute has on how your organization handles health records and communicates with employees.

Register for this webcast

Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. ET
Audit Your Retirment Plan
Presenter: Jewell Lim Esposito (Chamberlain Hrdlicka)
Employers who have not recently conducted a self-audit of their company's retirement plans are leaving themselves open to costly penalties and forced remedies should the Department of Labor (DOL) or IRS come to call. In this webcast, Jewell Lim Esposito of the law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka will go over the DOL's audit list for 2010 and describe how you, as a plan fiduciary, can aviod painful and costly plan mistakes. She'll also outline free or low-cost strategies for analyzing retirement plan costs and the investment options your plan offers.

Register for this webcast
 

Recent Webcasts:
Now Available 'On Demand':

The 'Other' Health Benefits
Presenter: Benjamin Cohen (Kushner & Co.)
While most of the focus is rightly on health care these days, ancillary benefits such as dental and vision coverage represent an integral part of any complete benefits program. In this program, Benjamin Cohen of Kushner & Co. will examine what employers around the country are doing now and what they are reviewing for the future. This webcast is sponsored by Delta Dental.
View this webcast

Enhance Consumer-Driven Plans with Wellness Integration
Presenter: Derek Boyce (Interra Health) and John Boss (Aon Corp.)
Many employers are adding — or even entirely shifting to — consumer-driven health plans to cut their employee coverage costs and give workers more say in their health care decisions. This program examines the ins and outs of consumer health plans and also provides insight as to how to expand their reach, by integrating them with employers' wellness initiatives. This webcast is sponsored by Avivia Health
.
View this webcast

Can Your Company Save Money and Preserve Perks?
Presenter: Gary Kushner (Kushner & Co.)
As companies continue to look for ways to control costs and avoid layoffs, many are reconsidering their benefits packages: Are there less expensive alternatives? What programs can be reduced or eliminated without sacrificing employee loyalty or morale? Are there new products that allow employers to provide equal or greater coverage at a lower cost? In this webcast, Gary Kushner, , CBP, president and CEO of Kushner & Co. will review steps employers can take to lower costs while still offering high-quality benefits to employees. He'll also look at the latest trends in benefits coverage. This webcast is sponsored by Workscape.
View this webcast 

Creating Safe Workplaces with Wellness Programs
Presenter: Jayme Ambrose (Scottsdale Healthcare)
Identifying health issues and providing options for wellness can help reduce the overall costs of your work-related injuries. This program looks at integrating wellness and safety programs -- and the wins for employees that
result.
View this webcast

Cut Costs with Total Health Care Management
Presenters: Cindy Gates and Robert Colao (Mercer)
A growing number of employers are adopting total health management, an approach to managing health care costs. With health management costs accounting for nearly a quarter of payrolls, such an approach can yield overall cost reductions of 1 to 3 percent of payroll. This program will describe approaches employers have taken to create a sustainable culture of health, facilitating behavior change and cutting costs This webast is sponsored by Avivia Health. 
View this webcast

Communicating CDHPs to Your Workforce
Presenters: Suzanne McGrey (Employee Benefit Solutinos) and Lane Transou, SPHR, (Global Industries Ltd.)
There is growing interest in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) among both employers and employees. This presentation explains how to select and implement the plan that's right for you. This webcast is sponsored by Workscape.
View this webcast

  • More Compensation & Benefits webcasts 

  •  Reprints & Permissions

    Reprints can be ordered in two ways: hard copy glossy reprints and electronic in Portable Document Format (PDF). Reprints are available for editorial content from HR Magazine, HR News, the SHRM Legal Report, any of the HR Disciplines, and Staffing Management magazine. Contact YGS Group at (800) 501-9571.

    An Introduction to Benefits

    Get an overview of terminology and issues associated with benefits.

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    Benefits Newsletter

    SHRM publishes a Benefits electronic newsletter covering a wide variety of topics, four times per month.

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     Featured Video

    Wellness Incentive Wisdom
    Doug Layman, executive VP at Gilsbar Inc., offers advice for HR professionals when considering the timing and approach that effective wellness incentives should take.
    HR Talk: Discuss Benefits

     SHRMstore Feature

    2010 Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law 

    Legal guidance for HR areas including employee benefit plans, compensation, and recordkeeping, with up-to-date information as well as practical tips and checklists. The 2010 edition provides new and expanded coverage of the effects of legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act;  Department of Labor regulations regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act; revised rules for annual funding notices for most benefit plans; and evolving standards for reviewing claims decisions made by plan sponsors and insurers.

     _______

    SHRM Customized Benchmarking Service
    With more than 140 metrics from over 5.000 organizations in its benchmarking database, SHRM offers objective data on some of the most important issues facing HR and organizations today. Choose from three different benchmarking reports (human capital, health care, retirement and welfare) customized to your organization's industry and employee size, with a discount for SHRM members.
    Go to Customized Benchmarking Service

     



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