Employment Resources

Voluntary Vision and Dental insurance is becoming increasingly popular among mid-sized companies as a way to bolster their employee benefits programs.

Since passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, benefit providers have been adding Vision and Dental care, giving mid-market companies a variety of choices among competitively priced plans that can help attract and retain quality workers. “We continue to see that benefits like these are good for driving employee loyalty and job satisfaction,” says Alan Hirschberg, vice president of dental and vision products for MetLife Inc.

Sales of Voluntary benefits keep growing: a survey last by industry association LIMRA International, Inc. showed that Vision coverage increased 75% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2012, while Dental care rose 1%.

To help curb costs, mid-sized businesses often ask employees to pick up at least 30% of premiums for these plans. Most workers are fine with this because the premiums are relatively inexpensive.

In addition to supplementing Group Health insurance, Vision and Dental plans cover tests and procedures that can reduce employers’ health care costs down the road. For example, eye and dental exams can be crucial in early detection and management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

When it comes to Voluntary benefits, one size does not fit all. For instance, highly compensated employees might want a Dental plan that covers adult orthodontics, while lower-wage workers might prefer coverage for cleaning, fillings and other basic care. Companies can also offer multiple plans, allowing workers to select the premiums and coverage they prefer.

We’d be happy to work with you in tailoring cost-effective, comprehensive voluntary Vision and Dental plans that can benefit your business – and your employees.

Benefits experts have usually focused on the role of management in implementing programs that improve employees’ flexibility in balancing their life and work. However, researchers are now calling on workers to take the primary responsibility for a creating more flexible daily life by making small, shifts in their everyday behavior.

For example, a survey by Cali Williams Yost, author of Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day,” found that nearly 75% of employees believe that work-life flexibility is only possible if their employer and/or boss provide it. Adds Brad Harrington, Ph.D., executive director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family, “ultimately it’s the individual who must solve this problem, determine their fit, and manage the process of achieving it.

Although more companies are offering flexibility programs and policies that help employees manage such life transitions such as parenthood and illness, Yost and Harrington point out that many workers find it unrealistic to work regularly from home, revise their daily schedule, or use other flexibility options. Even so, they argue, this doesn’t make work-life balance a lost cause.

“Major life events matter,” says Yost, “but it’s the everyday routine we crave and where employees struggle the most with managing work-life fit. Employees themselves need to manage work-life as a daily practice. While this sounds counterintuitive, it starts by thinking small.” She encourages employees to “make small, consistent changes in how, when and where they manage their work and their lives… taking actions that over time build the foundation for a successful work-life fit that transforms their performance on and off the job.”

That’s sound advice to share with your workers.

As wellness and health management programs have become increasingly common, many employers who’ve seen the positive results of reward-based incentives wither have begun using financial penalties to encourage enrollment in these plans.

Although this can be an effective approach in boosting plan participation among at-risk workers, misusing it can lead to negative reactions from employees.

The logic behind penalty incentives is rooted in behavioral economics, particularly the theory of loss aversion, which holds that a person is more easily compelled to prevent the loss of something than to pursue a reward. The most common penalties for opting out of wellness plans are monthly or annual increases in employees’ health care premiums, copayments, and deductibles.

Some businesses prefer a carrot-and-stick approach, offering workers “gated benefit plans,” which limit employees who don’t take part in wellness programs to limited-coverage, high-deductible plans, while rewarding those who do participate with access to plans that provide better coverage and/or lower premiums and deductibles.

Despite the potential effectiveness of using penalties, this approach can easily upset or anger employees if they don’t understand the broader goals of your wellness program.

To minimize this risk, focus on the program’s overall goal of improving workers’ health, together with as a theme of shared responsibility for the long-term success of the company’s Group Health plan.

“You might need a year of lead time to begin the process of educating employees on why the company is sharing responsibility for their health care coverage,” advises one industry expert. “Only after you get through that incremental education process are you ready to implement the change, especially if it’s a penalty.”

To learn more, feel free to get in touch with the Employee Benefits specialists at our agency.

A recent nationwide study found that more and more businesses and workers are benefiting from voluntary employee benefits programs. According to the Prudential Insurance Company State of Group Voluntary Benefits survey:

• More than six in ten employees surveyed (63%) believe that voluntary benefits increase the value of their company’s benefits program.
• The percentage of employees who would like to receive more benefits grew to 34% from 24% a year ago.
• One in three employees feels that losing their voluntary benefits would be disruptive and expensive.
• “Employers and employees agree on the value of voluntary benefits,” says Bob Patience Prudential Group Vice President, Voluntary Benefits Insurance.
• “Employers see an increase in employees’ satisfaction with these programs, while employees appreciate their employers’ endorsement of the products offered, and believe they get good value because of their employers’ involvement and diligence.”

Voluntary benefits offers workers a number of advantages, including the education and resources they need to make informed decisions based on their needs. Taking full advantage of these programs is a great way for employees to improve their “wellness” – both physical and financial. What’s more, voluntary benefits offer workers the convenience of employer-based enrollment systems and “pain free” payroll deduction.

What employees saw as the primary advantage of voluntary benefits varied based on age, education, and gender. More than three in five workers (62%) over the age of 60 focused on the guaranteed coverage feature. More than half (56%) of college graduates preferred the wide range of available products. A slightly higher percentage (53%) of women than of men (45%) chose the convenience of payroll deductions.

Our agency’s professionals would be happy to advise you on creating or updating, your Voluntary Benefits program – just give us a call.

Most employers hope to avoid raising rates for their Group Health plans when new regulations under the Affordable Care Act take effect next January, according to a recent nationwide survey of more than 1,200 businesses by Willis Human Capital Practice. However, more than half of these businesses haven’t calculated the cost of implementing these changes.

“Employers are still coming to terms with the impact of healthcare reform, and many employers still seem to function in a ‘shock mode,'” says Jay Kirschbaum, Practice Leader of the Willis National Legal and Research Group. “Although few employers consciously manage their Group Medical benefits as a component of their total rewards package, survey responses indicate the beginning of an employer trend in this direction.”

The study concluded that most businesses are either relying on inaccurate “perceptions of cost” in planning their responses to healthcare reform, or don’t believe that the new rules will affect their Group Health program. For example, only 20% of surveyed employers plan to adjust other rewards (retirement, dental, vision, salaries, vacation, bonuses, and so forth) to offset the cost of ADA compliance.

The survey also found that:

• More than one in three employers might shift health care costs to employees.
• The percentage of employers willing to forego “grandfathered” status for their health plans has skyrocketed from only 13% in 2011 to 34% last year.
• Most employers intend to “play” under the “pay or play” mandate, by offering plans that exceed the “minimum essential coverage” under the ACA, and adjust coverage and contributions later to manage expenses.
• For informed advice on how to bring your company’s plan into compliance with the ADA, while getting the maximum benefit from your health care dollar, please feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

Non-traditional voluntary employee benefits are becoming increasingly popular with workers because they address their real-world lifestyles and financial needs. If you’d like to offer your workers a benefit that can help them invest in their future, advance their careers – and make them more productive – all without costing you a dime, consider online learning programs.

According to a recent nationwide study by Harris Interactive, more than half (53%) of workers and their spouses surveyed would be at least “somewhat likely” to use educational services for themselves or their families through an employee purchase program.

While higher education has become essential to get ahead in today’s high-tech world, skyrocketing costs have made it increasingly difficult for workers to afford. More than nine in ten college students have taken out loans to earn their bachelors degree – and the value of student loan debt has topped $1 trillion ($300 billion more than credit card and auto loan debts combined)!

Many employers currently offer some form of tuition assistance for the continuing education of their workers. However, online learning can provide a more affordable and convenient alternative for your employees to fund their education and that of their family members (through tutoring programs and SAT/ACT preparation programs) while learning at their own speed. Workers would pay through convenient pain-free payroll deductions, providing a responsible way to budget, together with the opportunity to graduate free of debt. What’s more, the program won’t burden your employee benefits budget.

To learn more about how you can offer this creative benefit to your workers, just give us a call.

The number of mid-market employers giving Group Health plan members incentives to participate in wellness programs has more than doubled since 2010, says a recent report by Fidelity Management and Research L.L.C.

The study found that more than three in four midsize businesses (77%) – those with fewer than 5,000 employees – offered employees monetary rewards tied to wellness activities and health management outcomes in 2011, compared with fewer than two in five (38%) that provided cash incentives in 2010. Overall, nearly nine in ten employers surveyed (86%) gave some type of incentive for wellness activities and/or outcomes in 2011, up from with 63% a year earlier.

The average value of incentives offered to employees and their dependents has also increased substantially. For the 2013 plan year, the average employee incentive value will reach $521, up from $460 in 2011; while the average incentive value for dependents will grow to $465 this year, from $390 in 2011.

Despite the rapid increase in mid-market businesses offering incentives for wellness program participation, they’re still less likely than larger employers to provide these rewards. The value of incentives also remains lower among midmarket employers than those given by larger businesses. Less than half of midsize firms (45%) offered inducements for healthy behavior worth $500 or more, compared with 50% of large employers and 68% of very large employers.

“As the cost of providing health care continues to increase, employers recognize one of the key ways to manage their company’s costs is to give incentives to their workforce for leading a healthier lifestyle,” says Adam Stavisky, Fidelity Senior Vice President/ Benefits Consulting.

If you’d like to implement, or a revise, an incentive program to help keep your workers stay more healthy – and, thus, more productive – just let us know. We’re here to help!

As businesses shift the cost of benefits programs to their workers, more and more employees wanting a larger say in how these dollars are spent are personalizing their Disability Income (DI) plans.

A recent nationwide survey of nearly 1,400 workers by TNS Omnibus found that:

• More than four in five respondents (86%) say that it’s important to tailor individual DI benefits to their lifestyle.
• More than three in four (76%) believe they should have a say in designing their own programs, rather than having the employer choose one-size-fits-all coverage.
• More than four in five (82%) would like to sign up for a disability plan that lets them select the size of their payments.

The study found that women were especially likely to favor customizable benefits, Gen-Yers (Millennials) and 40-somethings valued personalization more highly than did older workers.

Variables in DI plans include the weekly benefit (from, $200 to $1,000.), the start date (how quickly payments begin – from eight to 30 days after an injury or illness covered by the plan), and the duration of payments (up to 104 weeks).

Benefits customization requires an informed workforce. Employers need to educate workers about every new DI program, allowing participants to customize their benefits, while helping them understand how their choices align with company goals. If a plan is meant to increase safety awareness or reduce absenteeism, it makes sense to tell workers this and let them change their coverage to what they think will help them meet this need.

On the other hand, offering employees too many choices under their DI plan can be counterproductive.

Our agency’s Employee Benefits experts would be happy to offer your workers informed advice on tailoring a Disability Income plan to their needs – and those of your business. Feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

Facing higher costs and stiff penalties under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for failing to provide workers with Group Health coverage, the overwhelming majority of employers intend to keep sponsoring these plans, while many businesses will be revamping their programs.

A recent nationwide survey of nearly 800 large and midsize employers found that only 6% of respondents plan to stop providing Group Health for their workers during the next three to five years.

Starting in 2014, the ACA will require all companies with at least 50 full-time (or equivalent) workers that don’t offer Health Coverage for their employees to pay a non-tax-deductible penalty of $2,000 for each employee. Because of these penalties and the resulting risk of losing talented workers, most employers believe they need to keep providing employees with Health Insurance. For competitive reasons, some businesses would have to raise salaries to offset at least some of the costs to employees for buying coverage on their own.

Many employers are considering a redesign of their Health Plans. For example, 37% of survey respondents expect to adopt a “house money/house rules approach,” which would reduce premiums for employees who participate in health risk questionnaires, biometric screenings, and so forth. Other companies might waive prescription drug copayments for employees who can show that they’re following medical advice for the treatment of chronic conditions.

In addition, 28% of respondents expect to provide employees a credit to buy Health Coverage through private insurance exchanges at the state level. This option is attractive to organizations that want to offer employees health care choices, while controlling the cost trends and administrative burdens of sponsoring a Group Health program. Some employers are already offering employees and retirees coverage through private exchanges.

Before deciding whether to provide Health Coverage as an employee benefit in 2014, check out these guidelines from small business experts:

• Consider the nature of your business. Professional businesses – such as physicians, dentists, architects, and CPAs – that need to compete for skilled workers will probably find it makes financial sense to provide Health Insurance for their employees. On the other hand, a dry cleaner or mom-and-pop restaurant that hires minimum-wage or unskilled workers might decide to skip Group Coverage.
• Keep in mind what your employees want. Employees newly required to have Health Insurance under the Affordable Care Act might prefer to get it from their employers.
• Don’t forget about the tax benefits of providing healthcare. The federal government offers most companies with fewer than 25 low-wage employees tax credits to help cover the cost of insurance. The credit is up to 35% of company payments for health benefits, and will increase to 50% in 2014 for businesses that buy coverage through the state online Health Insurance markets created by the ACA.
• Consider subsidized health benefits. Your employees might be better off buying Health Insurance through the state exchange – especially if they qualify for federal subsidies. (For example, a family of four with an annual income of $92,000 would be eligible under this program). Ask yourself: “If most of my employees could qualify for premium help through the individual exchange, am I doing them a favor by offering Group Coverage?”

Before you make your decision, we’d be happy to review all of these factors in the context of your situation and offer you our recommendation. Just give us a call.