Once a year, the floodgates fly open and a benefits bonanza begins. It’s Open Enrollment, a slice of time when employers make benefits packages available to employees, who must then sift through options on the way to selecting the best…
Tag: Employee Benefits
Benefits Blog: Tips for a Successful Open Enrollment
Report Card: Filing the Form 5500 Annual Return
Data drives decisions. Data reveals trends. Data is the lifeblood of business and government. And data provides the underpinning of one of an employer’s most important documents each year – the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefits Plan. This…
Touchpoint: Preparing a Summary Plan Description (SPD)
Benefits packages represent a two-edged sword – they’re incredibly important in providing for and protecting yourself and your family, while they also can be rather challenging to read and fully understand. That’s why the U.S. Department of Labor requires employers…
Striking a Balance: Is a Section 125 Cafeteria Benefits Plan Right for You?
Balancing an employer’s desire to provide benefits with an employee’s need to secure them can be a challenge. Factor in cost, tax obligations, and other variables, and the task becomes more daunting. Enter Section 125 plans, more commonly known as…
Clear and Credible: Developing a Benefits Communication Program
Employee benefits represent roughly a third of the typical individual’s total compensation package, so it’s in everyone’s interest that the terms, guidelines, and options inherent in those benefits are communicated clearly and with credibility. That’s the rationale for developing a…
Clearing the Air: The Value of Smoking Cessation Programs
Many employers may not realize the full cost that employee smoking incurs to their company. Smokers are much more likely to develop serious chronic medical conditions, visit the doctor more often, be absent from work with an illness, or have…
Prescription Drug Coverage: Options to Reduce Costs
While it may appear that so much of health insurance coverage is out of the direct control of businesses and the employees and families they protect, one element does in fact offer a level of control available to just about…
Remote Control: Telemedicine Offers Wider Care Options
You can call up a quote from Shakespeare in seconds, send a message to the other side of the globe immediately, and even buy a car, all from your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. So why not get checked by a…
Breaking an Addiction: Smoking Cessation Programs
It’s no secret that using tobacco products is not a healthy choice. What may not be as well known, however, are the costs in lost time and productivity because tobacco users may not be as healthy as other employees. Studies…
Rx for Savings: Keeping Prescription Costs Low
One of the most significant costs when it comes to health care benefits comes in the form of prescription drug coverage. By being a wise health care consumer, however, you may be able to reduce your prescription drug costs by…