Headlines about "Voluntary benefits"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Providers Are Mixing New and Different Elements in Today's Dental Insurance Plans
Excerpt: "Demand for dental coverage is increasing, and providers are responding with a new generation of plan designs that are progressive on one hand, 'retro' on the other, and increasingly consumer centric. 'It's very interesting to watch what's happening in the industry right now,' says Karen Gustin, vice president of group and managed care products for Ameritas. 'Employers and employees are looking for value in dental benefits, not just price. But at the same time, they want products at less cost. The result is that it's taking the industry back to the products of the 1980s.'" (Employee Benefit Adviser)

Maximizing the Value of Benefits in a Recession
Excerpt: "Cash no longer flows as freely as it once did, and employers are responding. Many employers have cut back on funding retirement plans and other benefits. Many employers have cut back on staffing levels. Many employers have cut back on both. However, all employers want to come out of this recession ahead of their competition. History indicates that a workforce focused on achieving the next goal, rather than dodging the ax, will help an employer win. This puts pressure on human resource managers in the classic dilemma of keeping morale high while cutting employee security. Fortunately, most people value more than just cash and have the ability to do so in the workplace just as well as other parts of their life. Tapping into those values offers a source of low cost morale raisers. In this article, we outline a few ideas for motivating a workforce without a large outlay of cash." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)

[Guidance Overview] No Voluntary Plan Exemption Where Employer Determined Eligibility and Assumed Administrative Role
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This employer's involvement with the short-term disability plan -- which included assisting in drafting plan eligibility requirements and helping employees with claims -- is a virtual 'what not to do' list for satisfying the voluntary plan safe harbor's no-endorsement rule (also referred to as 'employer neutrality'). We suspect that this employer intended for the plan to be subject to ERISA, thereby allowing it to use ERISA preemption as a shield to protect it from state-law claims, such as those alleged by the employee." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

More Small Companies Turning to Voluntary Benefits As Low-Cost Way to Bolster Business and Empower Employees
Excerpt: "Difficult economic times mean tough either/or choices for small-business owners. For many, adding voluntary benefits to compensate for cutbacks elsewhere in a benefits package or to enrich an existing core benefits plan--particularly one with a high deductible--makes more sense than making cuts in critical areas of a business, laying off key employees or losing them to a competitor with a richer benefits package. Instead of paying for disability insurance, life insurance, dental insurance and the like as core employee benefits, small-business owners have begun to see the wisdom of providing those kinds of benefits on a voluntary basis, a la carte-style, where employees can pick and choose among them and pay for the ones they want and can afford." (Entrepreneur.com, Inc. via MSNBC.com)

Tough Times Demand Smart Solutions in Employee Benefits Packages
Excerpt: "Economically challenging times require creative solutions, especially among small and midsize employers who, despite budget constraints, are trying to offer comprehensive benefits packages that adequately protect their workforce. With the help of brokers and advisers, employers are finding that creative benefits solutions ? a strategic mix of employer-sponsored plan designs and added voluntary plans ? can close coverage gaps and still be affordable." (Employee Benefit Adviser; Registration may be required)

The Problem with HR Pitching Voluntary Benefits
Excerpt: "Topic - 'Voluntary Benefits', defined as benefits in which the employee pays all of the cost, provide employees with options for benefits and insurance coverage they might not otherwise be able to afford. The affordability of such benefits is usually enhanced by the face that employees can often pay for voluntary benefits with pre-tax dollars. Sounds noble, right? Here's are a few problems that are often overlooked . . . ." (Benefits Buzz)

International and Cross-Border Retirement and Fringe Benefit Plans: IRS Advisory Committee Survey Seeks Opinions of Employers, Administrators, Practitioners, Consultants
2-page Word survey questionnaire; September 30 deadline. Excerpt: "The IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) (the 'ACT') is undertaking a study to identify international and cross-border activities, issues, challenges, impediments and barriers in connection with the design, coverage, portability, and tax administration of US employee retirement (qualified and non-qualified) and fringe benefit plans. . . [T]he ACT is particularly interested in the views of stakeholders, such as employers, administrators, trustees, custodians, practitioners and consultants regarding these issues [and asks for your views on or before September 30, 2008]." (IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities)

Vision Benefits Can Provide Employees Cost Relief - Also Makes Good on Often Promised Cross-Benefit Preventative Opportunities
Excerpt: "'A vision check may be one of the few times that an employee may go see a doctor for some kind of check up,' . . . . Couple that with the fact that many vision benefits are easy to comprehend and that the check-ups rarely - if ever - involve drills or needles and before a company realizes it, they're catching medical mole hills before they morph into hospitalization mountains." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Voluntary Benefits Becoming More Popular as Employers Scale Back Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Non-health policies include accident, life, home and auto insurance as well as non-traditional benefits that offer shopping discounts, identity-theft protection, wedding protection and group legal plans." (AISHealth.com)

Linking Wellness and Voluntary Funding
Excerpt: "Payroll deduction has proven to be a powerful employee motivational tool in meeting health and wellness goals at Nature's Sunshine Products Inc. . . . . Employees enjoy the convenience and affordability of paying for a discounted membership to their nearest Gold's Gym, which is $18 a month. But there's also a built-in incentive to show up for a workout: They can earn a $1 credit up to $12 applied to the following month's payroll deduction." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Changing Workforce Demographic Reflected in Employer Benefit Choices
Excerpt: "A new report from Unum lays out changing trends in voluntary benefits purchases by employers driven by a changing workforce demographic and rising health care costs, and provides employers with suggestions on how to deal with these factors." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Employee Communication, Enrollment Periods, and Voluntary Benefits
Excerpt: "If employers really want to convey the value of their benefits offerings and advisers want to uphold their role as benefit educators, they both need to make enrollment a priority. That may mean offering multiple enrollment opportunities throughout the year." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Many Advisers and Employers Give Group Life and Other Ancillary Products Short Shrift
Excerpt: "Employers and advisers don't always take a proactive approach to educating employees about their life insurance needs and providing meaningful entry points to increase their coverage, experts observe. Although health plans have claims data to rely on to know when and how to target new parents, life insurers have it a little tougher. However, says, Gemus, 'To the point an employer is willing to share demographic information with us, we can reach out to employees as these types of life events are happening.'" (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Medical Carriers Tap Into Voluntary Market
Excerpt: "Although medical carriers continue to consolidate, that doesn't mean they are offering more of the same old thing. It appears more and more major medical companies are branching into the voluntary market, according to a study by Eastbridge Consulting. The depth of this trend varies widely as some companies are offering a full menu of voluntary products while others are just introducing one or two." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Worksite Sales Require a Much Different Approach by Health Advisors Than Group Medical
Excerpt: "The market is there. Statistics show that more and more employers are looking to voluntary benefits market sold through worksite distribution to fill gaps created by their health care cost management efforts." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Generational Segmentation Continues to Drive Need for Varied Voluntary Benefit Offerings
Excerpt: "Employers are offering a broader range of voluntary products as a way to entice diverse job candidates and retain good workers. Financial counseling, legal services, pet insurance, cancer insurance, long-term care insurance and concierge services like dry cleaning, dog walking and movie tickets are garnering more attention from businesses." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

The Voluntary Market -- Employers Looking at More Alternative Benefits Like Group Legal Plans
Excerpt: "The key to group legal sales appears to be clear and simple communication about what the plans offer. The services employees can access through legal plans vary greatly. Some focus on the preparation and review of legal documents like tax audits, living wills, estate plans and traffic tickets. Others cover civil litigation defense, adoption, divorce and consumer protection issues." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

Life Insurance Most Common Voluntary Benefit Offering
Excerpt: "A new survey by a New York-based HR consultant found that 98% of employers offered some kind of voluntary benefit – most often life insurance in 75% of the cases." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

How Some Employers Really Feel About Emerging Funeral Benefits
Excerpt: "A recent EBN QuickPoll shows some considerable resistance to the funeral services benefit concept among benefit managers. More than half (51%) of respondents said they wouldn't consider offering funeral planning as a voluntary benefit, while 25% said they would consider it, and 10% said 'maybe, down the line.' Another 14% weren't sure." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Employer-Paid LTD Policies Covering Business Owner Did Not Meet Voluntary Plan Safe Harbor
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The DOL's voluntary plan safe harbor requires that employees pay the full cost of the voluntary plan. Nevertheless, the safe harbor does permit the employer to collect the employee's premium payments through payroll deductions." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

BenefitsLink Named 'Best of the Web' by Human Resource Executive Online
We're the only site in the 'Benefits' category! Thanks for letting us share this news with you. Excerpt: "With that in mind, we considered it fitting to present in this anniversary issue 10 of the best HR Web sites and 10 of the best HR blogs for your browser's Favorites/Bookmarks list. . . . [I]f it's about benefits, you'll find something about it on BenefitsLink. Just a cruise down its left side navigation/links bar, and you quickly get the idea how they chose the site's name back in 1995." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)

Caregiver Services Expanded to Pets
Excerpt: "Add pet care to the ever-expanding list of voluntary benefits. Caregivers On Call, a national benefits provider, has teamed up with FETCH! Pet Care, a nationwide pet care franchise offering pet sitting and dog walking services, to provide in-home care services for every member of the family." (BenefitNews Connect)

Voluntary Benefits Vary Across Industries, According to Unum Study
Excerpt: "By studying the purchasing patterns of more than 100,000 employers nationwide, UnumProvident has identified trends in buying patterns and plan designs." (Employee Benefit News)

One Size Doesn't Fit All When It Comes to Group Benefits
Excerpt: "Every business owner struggles with the balancing act of dealing with rising health care costs while continuing to offer employees a competitive benefits package with quality coverage. But what would you say if I told you there's a way to make everyone happy -- including you? The answer: employee-paid, or voluntary, benefits." (National Association of Health Underwriters)

Calculus of Workplace Benefits Shifts
Excerpt: "Companies that currently fund employee benefits get to deduct them as business expenses, a tax break they lose if workers pay all of the costs themselves. Meanwhile, workers may gain some tax advantages from paying for their own benefits." (The Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Study Reveals Effect of Gender and Age on Voluntary Benefits Purchasing
Excerpt: "Research from Tennessee-based disability insurance giant UnumProvident is giving employers new insight on how to tailor voluntary benefit offerings to best suit employees' differing needs during different life stages." (Employee Benefit News)

VEBAS: Possibilities for Employee Benefit Funding
Originally published Summer 2003. Excerpt: "After a brief discussion of the rules governing VEBAs, this article looks at some of the current issues involving their use." (Steptoe & Johnson LLP)

The links shown above have been gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com. Each article's publisher is shown above in parentheses. Opinions expressed in each article are those of the article's publisher, not necessarily those of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. or any web site that displays these headlines in a "frame." You should contact the listed publisher for copyright information about any particular article or to inquire into the right to use the article in any manner.