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Dependent Eligibility Audits Bring Employers 'Immediate, Often Staggering' Savings

Excerpt: American companies lose an estimated $22 billion annually paying for the health care of their employees' ineligible dependents, according to Ceridian. On top of that, employers are now finding that factors such as high divorce rates and blended families are leading to even higher numbers ineligible dependents, Attwooll said.

The Ultimate Guide to Employee Benefits Administration

"Rather than persisting with outdated processes, there's new opportunity for HR teams to reduce administrative burden, empower employees to make informed benefits decisions, and generate valuable insights into cost improvements to support larger organizational goals. This guide will dive into common challenges of managing employee benefits administration and how to overcome these obstacles with employee engagement strategies and tools for looking ahead."

Why Workplace Wellness Is Important for Sustaining a Healthy Culture

"81% of respondents experienced burnout in the year prior to the study, with one-third of respondents feeling less focused and just over a quarter (26%) planning on taking a leave of absence/sick leave.... [W]hat employees would like to see ... mental health days (41%), flexible schedules (40%), and additional benefits coverage (31%)."

Why You Should Consider Outsourcing Employee Benefits Administration

"The right outsourcing partner can help maximize efficiency by giving you access to benefits software that handles everything from selection rollouts to data analytics to COBRA management. Look for an outsourcing partner than can offer a single system where all your benefits management information is in one place. That way, benefit selections are visible and quick to find, whether you're onboarding a crew of new hires, managing a company-wide enrollment period, or sunsetting an offboarded employee with a COBRA package."

Best Practices to Help Perfect Your Hybrid Work Model

"Prioritize consistent and clear communication ... Keep working for human connection ... Hire hybrid talent with purpose ... Set productivity and workflow expectations ... Don't compromise culture."

How to Improve Your Open Enrollment Process This Year

"Employees need help understanding their benefits, so you need a strategy that takes your employees' key questions into account, and that provides a seamless and painless experience to access information.... Make messaging simple, timely, and available across channels ... Make information easy to access ... Make it easy for employees to get help."

Tapping Social Security for Parental Leave

"[T]he proposal would create a self-financing mechanism for paid parental leave, removing one of the biggest obstacles to federal legislation establishing a national paid leave program. New parents would essentially borrow against their own future retirement benefits.... A Social Security-for-parental leave scheme ... could be construed as diverting scarce Social Security funds to a purpose different from retirement security.... [T]he proposal makes clear that momentum is building to make paid leave a matter of national policy -- parental, family and sick leave."

Health Care Reform and W-2 Reporting: IRS Provides Details

The IRS emphasizes that what must be reported includes both employer and employee contributions, including for example, employer and employee portions of major medical insurance premiums.

Wellness & Health Care Reform: The Battle for Both Cost Containment and a Healthier Workforce

Excerpt: Employers need to plan ahead to reap the benefits from new wellness incentives. It's not a cure-all, but health care reform attempts to hold down rising costs in coming years through several provisions that make workplace wellness programs more affordable and attractive to both employers and employees.

Health Care Reform Legislation: The Coming Compliance Tsunami

Excerpt: Like the effects of a submarine earthquake not seen until its giant tidal wave crashes ashore, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the single biggest piece of domestic policy legislation in 45 years, has the potential to drown our nation's employers in new and far-reaching HR, payroll and benefits compliance requirements.... But if the final health care reform legislation that becomes law looks anything like what the U.S. House of Representatives approved, or even resembles U.S. Senator Reid's newly announced legislation, the new law could be the compliance equivalent of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and COBRA all rolled into one.