Five predictions for 2014: revolutionizing employee engagement
Originally posted January 29, 2014 by Keith Kitani on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
In 2013, the crucial parts of health care reform became a reality after months of debate and discussion, employers across the country revamped plans while consumers attempted to make sense of the complex and confusing new landscape. As we begin the New Year, educating employees about new benefit programs through innovative, digital communication will be absolutely crucial. Here are five predictions for what 2014 will bring:
Education will trump uncertainty – Health care reform created a massive opportunity for companies to re-think how they communicate about health plans. This will be the year for organizations to step up their communications to ease the uncertainty many felt in 2013.
The shift to digital – Smartphones and tablets are the new M.O. for consuming information. Employers will make the shift to communicate important content in digital formats available to employees anytime, anywhere.
The customized economy – Greater customization will emerge for engaging a company’s workforce and for influencing company culture. Companies will communicate with employees in the company's unique voice and style, and provide consistent and digestible messaging regardless of employee location or job function.
Employee engagement will be measured – With communications going digital, companies will have more concrete ways to measure employee sentiment, by tracking actual behavior. This new awareness will drive new initiatives to address and further improve employee engagement.
Wellness programs will become more prevalent – With more focus on high deductible health plans, due to HCR, wellness programs will become more mainstream to promote positive health, as well as to help companies attract and retain talent.
2014 will be the year when employers start to embrace more innovative ways to communicate with employees. Those employers who focus on employee education, leverage digital channels, and customize their communications appropriately will not only enjoy higher employee engagement but also a greater awareness of the level of that engagement. We see, time and time again, that engaged employees are more productive employees. Those companies who get employee engagement right will see it in their bottom line.
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll for January 2014
Originally posted January 30, 2014 on https://kff.org
January 1st may have been a monumental date for those working on and closely following the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds little change in the public’s knowledge and views of the law. With enrollment in new coverage options underway, a majority of the public believes that only “some” of the ACA’s provisions have been put into place, while just about one in five think “most” or “all” of the law has been implemented. Awareness of the law’s individual mandate and health insurance exchanges has increased slightly since last year, but about four in ten of the public overall and half the uninsured remain unaware of other major provisions. For the third month in a row, overall views of the law remain at their post-rollout more negative levels (50 percent unfavorable, 34 percent favorable), though over half the public – including three in ten of those who view the law unfavorably – say opponents should work on improving the law rather than keeping up efforts to repeal it.
Among the uninsured – a key group for outreach under the law – unfavorable views now outnumber favorable views by roughly a 2-to-1 margin (47 percent versus 24 percent). This is a change from last month when 43 percent of the uninsured had an unfavorable view and 36 percent were favorable. More of those without coverage say the law has made the uninsured as a group worse off (39 percent) than better off (26 percent). Despite these views, large shares of the uninsured see health insurance as “very important” and say they need it, while four in ten say they’ve tried to get coverage in the past 6 months, and half expect to get it this year.
January 1st Didn’t Register With The Public
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that even after most of the ACA’s major provisions took effect on January 1, a large majority of the public (62 percent) continues to believe that only “some” provisions of the ACA have been put into place thus far. Only about one in five (19 percent) say “most” or “all” provisions have been implemented, up somewhat from 9 percent last March.
When it comes to the individual elements of the law, awareness has increased slightly for two of the big ones: the individual mandate (81 percent now say it is part of the law, up from 74 percent last March) and the health insurance exchanges (68 percent, up from 58 percent). Still, large shares of the public – and even higher shares of the uninsured – remain unaware of some other major provisions of the law. For example, roughly four in ten adults overall, and about half of the uninsured, are not aware that the law provides financial help to low- and moderate-income Americans to help them purchase coverage, gives states the options of expanding their Medicaid programs, and prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
| FIGURE 2: Many Uninsured Remain Unaware Of Some Major ACA Provisions | ||||
| Total public | Uninsured, age<65 | |||
| To the best of your knowledge, would you say the health reform law does or does not…? | Yes, law does this | No/Don’t know | Yes, law does this | No/Don’t know |
| Require nearly all Americans to have health insurance or else pay a fine | 81 | 19 | 79 | 22 |
| Create health insurance exchanges or marketplaces where people who don’t get coverage through their employers can shop for insurance and compare prices and benefits | 68 | 31 | 62 | 38 |
| Provide financial help to low and moderate income Americans who don’t get insurance through their jobs to help them purchase coverage | 63 | 38 | 54 | 46 |
| Give states the option of expanding their existing Medicaid program to cover more low-income, uninsured adults | 58 | 42 | 49 | 51 |
| Prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history | 54 | 46 | 48 | 53 |
On a more personal level, 44 percent of the public overall – including 66 percent of the uninsured –continue to say they don’t have enough information to understand how the law will impact their families.
Overall Views Remain Negative, But Public Wants Opponents To Work On Fixes Rather Than Repeal
Views of the law overall remain more negative than positive this month, with 50 percent saying they have an unfavorable view and 34 percent favorable, almost identical to the split in opinion since November. Still, more than half the public overall, including three in ten of those who view the law unfavorably, say opponents should accept that it’s the law of the land and work to improve it, while fewer than four in ten want opponents to keep up the repeal fight.
Most Continue To Say They Haven’t Felt An Impact From The ACA, But More Feel They’ve Been Affected Negatively Than Positively
At the same time, most Americans continue to report no personal experience with the law to date. Roughly six in ten say they haven’t been directly impacted by the law in a positive or negative way, though the share who perceive that they’ve been negatively impacted continues to be larger than the share who feel they’ve benefited (27 percent versus 15 percent). Those who feel they’ve been negatively impacted by the law are most likely to point to high costs of health care and insurance as the reason. With official data showing that only a very small share of the public overall have enrolled in the ACA’s coverage arrangements so far, these shares likely reflect people’s perceptions of being helped or harmed by the law, rather than actual experiences with new insurance options under the ACA.
Among The Uninsured, Unfavorable Views Outnumber Favorable By 2-to-1, And More Believe They’re Worse Off Under The Law Than Better
Among the uninsured – a key group targeted by the ACA – views of the law shifted negative this month. A quarter (24 percent) of those who currently lack coverage now say they have a favorable view of the law, while nearly twice as many (47 percent) have an unfavorable view and about three in ten (28 percent) decline to offer an opinion. In December, views among the uninsured were more evenly split (36 percent favorable, 43 percent unfavorable).
More than half of the uninsured (54 percent) say the law hasn’t made much difference for their families, and the share who feel they’re worse off as a result of the law is more than twice the share who feel they’re better off (30 percent versus 13 percent). When asked about the uninsured as a group, those without coverage are more likely to say the law has left this group worse off than better (39 percent versus 26 percent). We will continue to track these perceptions as more of the uninsured gain coverage.
Most Uninsured Say They Need Coverage; Four In Ten Have Tried To Get It In The Last 6 Months; Half Expect To Get It This Year
The survey also finds that most of the uninsured see health insurance coverage as very important (70 percent) and something they need (73 percent). Among those who currently lack coverage, four in ten say they have tried to get it in the past 6 months, including about one in five each who tried to get coverage from Medicaid (19 percent), directly from a private insurance company (19 percent), and through a state or federal health insurance exchange (18 percent).1
When told or reminded of the law’s requirement that most Americans obtain insurance or pay a fine, half the uninsured say they expect to get coverage, including about one in five (18 percent) who expect to purchase it themselves (either from a private insurance company or through an exchange), 8 percent who expect to get it from Medicaid, and 6 percent who expect to get coverage from an employer. A sizable share (17 percent of the uninsured overall) say they expect to get coverage but are unsure where.
Four in ten of those without coverage say they expect to remain uninsured, with most of these saying they don’t think they’ll be able to find an affordable plan. As noted above, many of the uninsured remain unaware of the additional options available to them under the ACA, including the insurance exchanges, subsidies, and expanded Medicaid in some states.
A Quarter Of The Public Overall Report A Change In Their Insurance Situation In The Past 6 months, Including One In Ten Who Attribute It To The ACA
As we pointed out in this Data Note [hyperlink], national public opinion polls aren’t the best vehicle for measuring the experiences of the small group of people who’ve actually gained coverage through the ACA so far. One thing we can do on the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll is to measure people’s perceptions about changes in their insurance situation and what role they think the law has played in those changes. This month’s poll finds a quarter (24 percent) of the public reports that they’ve had a change in their health insurance situation in the past 6 months, and four in ten of these (10 percent of the public overall) believe this change was a result of the health care law.
Among the 10 percent who perceive that their insurance status has changed as a result of the ACA, twice as many believe it was a change for the worse rather than for the better. However, about half this group currently has coverage through an employer, and most report that the change in their coverage was a change from one plan to another, suggesting that many of them may be attributing regular changes in insurance coverage to the law.
| FIGURE 11: Perceptions And Demographics Of Those Who Believe They Had A Change In Insurance Status As A Result Of The ACA | |
| Among the 10% who had a change in insurance status and believe it was a result of the ACA | |
| Would you say the change in your health insurance situation was a change for the better or a change for the worse? | |
| Better | 29% |
| Worse | 61 |
| No difference/Don’t know/Refused | 10 |
| Which best describes the change in your health insurance situation? | |
| Changed plans | 45 |
| Lost or dropped coverage | 14 |
| Got health insurance after being uninsured | 15 |
| Costs went up (vol.) | 12 |
| Some other change | 10 |
| Current health insurance status/type | |
| Insured (NET) | 92 |
| Employer | 50 |
| Self-purchase | 19 |
| Medicare | 6 |
| Medicaid | 13 |
| Other coverage | 3 |
| Uninsured | 6 |
| Don’t know/Refused | 2 |
More Report Seeing News Stories About Negative Rather Than Positive Impacts On People
This month’s poll also examined views of the media environment surrounding the ACA, and finds the majority say coverage of the law is focused more on politics and controversies (56 percent) rather than on how the law might impact people (6 percent), shares that have held steady since last fall. When it comes to personal stories in the news, about half the public (47 percent) reports hearing at least one story in the last month about an individual or family who was impacted by the law, with about twice as many saying they saw more stories about people being harmed (27 percent) as saying they saw more stories about people being helped (13 percent).
1. Multiple responses were allowed, since people may have tried to get coverage from more than one source in the past 6 months
IRS Issues Regs on Wellness Program Incentives
Originally posted January 28, 2014 by Jerry Geisel on https://www.tirebusiness.com
Financial incentives that employers provide to employees participating in wellness programs generally could not be included in determining if an employee is exempt from a healthcare reform law requirement to enroll in a plan offering minimum essential coverage under newly proposed regulations.
Healthcare plan premium contribution discounts are an example of such an incentive.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations proposed Jan. 23 and published in the Jan. 27 Federal Register involve the relationship between a premium affordability test established by the Patient Protection and Affordability Act and the financial incentives employers provide for employees to participate in wellness programs.
Under the healthcare reform law, employees are required to enroll in a plan offering minimum essential coverage. If they do not, they are liable for a financial penalty. In 2014, the penalty is $95 or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater.
Employees are exempt from the penalty, however, if the premium their employer charges for coverage is “unaffordable,” which the law defines as greater than 8 percent of household income, and they did not enroll in the plan.
Under the proposed regulations, financial incentives, such as premium discounts for wellness program participation, would be excluded in running the 8 percent affordability test.
For example, if an employer charged employees a monthly premium of $100 for single coverage if they participated in a wellness program and $120 if they did not, the $120 premium assessment would be used to determine if the employee had access to affordable coverage.
In the case of premium discounts offered in connection with tobacco-cessation programs, however, the lower premium offered to employees participating in these programs would be used in running the premium affordability test, the IRS said.
“This rule is consistent with other Affordable Care Act provisions, such as one allowing insurers to charge higher premiums based on tobacco use,” the IRS said.
“There is more of a consensus among regulators on the benefits of tobacco-cessation programs compared with other wellness programs,” said Amy Bergner, managing director of human resources solutions at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. in Washington, referring to the different treatment for tobacco-cessation programs than other wellness programs.
This report appeared in Crain’s Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based sister publication of Tire Business.
Committee approves full-time worker bill
Originally posted February 04, 2014 by Allison Bell on https://www.benefitspro.com
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee today voted 23-14 to pass H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act bill.
For purposes of applying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act employer “shared responsibility” coverage mandate, the bill would define a full-time worker as an employee who works 40 hours or more per week.
PPACA now defines a full-time employee as an employee who works 30 or more hours per week.
PPACA requires employers that have the equivalent of 50 or more full-time employees to provide a minimum level of health coverage if one or more workers apply for coverage from a PPACA health insurance exchange.
Part-time workers count when employers are calculating the number of full-time equivalents they have, but employers subject to the PPACA “play or pay” mandate penalties tied to the number of actual full-time workers they have. When employers are calculating the actual penalty payment amounts, they can exclude part-time workers.
Rep. Todd Young, R-Ind., the sponsor, said the 30-hour limit is encouraging many employers to limit hours to avoid penalties.
“An employee seeing their hours cut from 39 hours to 29 hours will lose an entire week’s paycheck over the course of a month,” Young said.
Democrats on the committee said the bill would gut the coverage mandate by letting employers classify workers who work as many as 39 hours per week as part-time workers.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., noted that Ways and Means leaders gave the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation only a week to analyze the bill.
Budget analysts have not yet estimated how the bill might affect federal spending, taxes or the federal budget deficit, Becerra said.
“We’re essentially voting in the blind,” Becerra said.
Public Exchanges Competitive with Employer-Sponsored Plan
Originally posted January 30, 2014 by Michael Giardina on https://eba.benefitnews.com
Premiums for health plans on new state exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are comparable to – and in some cases lower than – those being offered by employers with similar levels of coverage, according to a study released Thursday by PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute.
HRI analyzed the average premium costs for a working population nationally in the public exchanges, and calculated that the median 2014 premium for a plan with coverage similar to that of the average employer-sponsored plan was $5,844. By comparison, the average employer premium for a single worker was $6,119, a difference of 4%. The premiums do not include subsidies.
The ACA allows for consumers to shop on its 51 new state exchanges within four plan levels; these include bronze, which pays 60% of healthcare costs; silver, which covers 70%; gold, which covers 80%; and platinum, which covers 90% of the bill.
Currently, employer-sponsored health plans cover about 85% of healthcare costs, with the remaining costs being charged to employees, the PwC study states.
Across the board, at every level, average exchange premiums are lower than this year’s average premiums for employer-sponsored coverage, according to the data.
“Employers may be surprised that exchange premiums in 2014 are comparable to employer premiums and in some states significantly lower than employer-based premiums,” says the report. “Employers contemplating future limits to their health care spending could face less resistance if employees are given a wider range of options at different price points via an exchange.”
The report cautions, however, that future fluctuations in public exchange rates are possible because health plans are competing under a new set of underwriting rules which provide some protections against financial risk. “As a result of this uncertainty, the first-year exchange rates vary significantly. It may take several years for this new market to reach equilibrium,” it says.
HRI’s analysis is based data of employer-sponsored premiums of 156 million people in 2013. The analysis compares the premiums paid by employers for single worker coverage to premiums paid for similar coverage in the state exchanges.
Will Your Plan Cover Spouses?
Originally posted by Keith R. McMurdy on https://www.mondaq.com
I happened upon two interesting articles today about spousal coverage under employer sponsored benefit plans. The first was an article about UPS eliminating spousal coverage and blaming PPACA. The second was a study conducted by the Employee Benefits research Institute that concluded that, on average, spouses cost more to insure than employees, but elimination of spousal coverage may not save money in the long run. Without opining on whether or not the elimination of spousal coverage makes financial sense, there is an issue here about how to eliminate spouses from eligibility under a health plan which bears some consideration.
Generally, PPACA defines affordable coverage based on the single "employee only" rate. Employers are required to offer dependent coverage, but that requirement excludes an obligation to offer coverage for a spouse. So, like UPS, an employer can eliminate coverage for souses, keep coverage for children and still satisfy PPACA's requirements. But UPS did not eliminate all spouses from eligibility, only those with coverage available from their own employer. So if the decision is made to eliminate spousal coverage that is not necessarily the end of the process.
Will the coverage be offered to spouses who don't have other options or will all spouses be excluded? What are the definitions of dependent in the plan? Do you offer family coverage and not "single plus children" or "single plus spouse'? It comes down to the ongoing requirement to make your PPACA compliance plan meet the ERISA requirements. Remember that eligibility is dictated by plan terms and if your plan does not define terms like "spouse," "dependent" and "family," you could be creating a problem with ERISA by having conflicting interpretations of those terms. Then, assuming your definitions are complete, you have to make sure the eligibility rules you outlined not only use those definitions but also clearly explain the eligibility requirements. In the case of UPS, what does it mean to have "other available coverage"?
If you decide to offer coverage to spouses who don't have other coverage, how will you verify eligibility? What are your rules for confirming eligibility? How are these rules communicated? There are no absolute answers to these questions and employers have a variety of options for plan administration if they decided to go this route. But they have to think these things through in advance. Never lose sight of the fact that when an employer provides health insurance to employees, it is a plan sponsor under ERISA. Make sure that if you decide to restrict spousal coverage because of PPACA, you follow ERISA rules in the process.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
3 takeaways for employee benefits industry from Obama’s State of the Union address
Originally posted January 29, 2014 by Julie Stich on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
Following President Obama’s fifth State of the Union address, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans closely examined the key takeaways that will affect the employee benefits industry.
No. 1: The Affordable Care Act is here to stay and opponents will face a difficult, if not impossible, task to repeal it legislatively. However, the door is still open to make changes and improvements to the existing law.
No. 2: The ACA still needs many more “young invincibles” to sign up in order to keep costs low for others.
No. 3: Apprenticeship and other job training programs are going to be a major focus for the administration in 2014. Led by Vice President Biden, these efforts will work to mobilize business leaders, community colleges, mayors and governors, and labor leaders to increase funding and the number of innovative apprenticeships in America.
Without a doubt, the Affordable Care Act has had the most significant impact on the employee benefits industry in decades and even though the president’s address maintained a light focus on the issue, it will continue to affect our industry and raise questions with the public and employers for the foreseeable future. In addition, the president’s announcement of a major initiative to support apprenticeship and other job training programs has the opportunity to provide our industry with many benefits and needed resources.
Economists see little effect on hiring from ACA
Originally posted January 27, 2014 by Carolos Torres on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
The vast majority of U.S. companies said the implementation of the Obama administration’s health care law will have no effect on their businesses or hiring plans, according to results of a poll issued Monday.
About 75% of those surveyed said the Affordable Care Act hasn’t influenced their planning or expectations for 2014, according to data from the National Association for Business Economics. Twenty-one percent of 64 respondents said that the law would have a negative impact on business conditions and 5% said it will be positive.
Most, 85%, also said the law wouldn’t prompt a change in their hiring practices, according to the survey. Some 6% said it would lead to more employment of part-time help and fewer full-time staff, while 8% said it would lead to less hiring of all types of workers.
Participants were also sanguine about changes in Federal Reserve monetary policy, with 70% saying tapering of record stimulus would have no effect on profitability, and the remaining split almost evenly between positive and negative implications for earnings. An overwhelming majority of participants, 94%, said uncertainty regarding what direction policy makers would take prompted no change in capital investment plans.
“A significant majority of survey respondents anticipate little material impact on business conditions from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act or from possible changes in the Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy stance,” Jack Kleinhenz, NABE president and chief economist at Kleinhenz and Associates in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, said in a statement. “On net, survey respondents are more optimistic in their economic outlook and, regardless of any changes in monetary policy, expect their firms’ performance in 2014 will be superior to that in 2013.”
Cloud-based HR revolutionizes employee engagement
Originally posted January 27, 2014 by Henry Albrecht on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
It’s undeniable – cloud-based technologies have fundamentally changed how businesses operate. As employers transition from on- to off-premise for HRIS, they are seeing increased productivity and profitability in the obvious ways: lower up-front costs, faster innovation, easier integration, and no nasty upgrade hassles. It’s quite possible, however, that a less-obvious HR cloud revolution may prove to be even more meaningful – one that is more about people and culture.
This revolution, led by firms who bring a consumer-like experience and an understanding of the value of social connections at work, is helping build employer brands, improve engagement, and increase productivity and profits. It is ushering collaboration, innovation, and transparency in new ways. Here are three ways this revolution can change company culture:
1. The cloud allows for employee-driven collaboration and innovation at a new scale. This is particularly powerful with new tools like Brainstorm, created by financial software company Intuit. Brainstorm fosters employee innovation by allowing employees around the world to collaborate on new ideas, from small changes in process to large-scale, innovative business ideas. First created to spark innovation and cross-team collaboration, the tool helped Intuit generate a 1,000% increase in documented new ideas and a 500% increase in innovation in only a few short years. Within this new frontier for employee engagement and innovation, HR teams can also now easily identify the most innovative employees and support their growth.
Since its development a few years ago, the tool has expanded as a way for Intuit to foster inter-company collaboration, such as solving shared problems between themselves and the Red Cross. And after a partner asked Intuit to license Brainstorm, the company realized how valuable the software could be for other enterprises. Now, companies like General Electric and Lockheed Martin are using the tool with great success.
2. The cloud increases executive visibility of employee happiness.Historically, layers of reporting and infrastructure hindered executive visibility of everything from finances, operations, and even employee satisfaction. While financial and operational reporting does exists, (albeit expensive and often on-premise due to security) gauging employee morale at regular and consistent intervals has proven to be much more difficult.
Cloud-based technologies now allow for a new layer of instant visibility and transparency. TINYhr, a Seattle-based company, createdTINYpulse to collect employee feedback in one-question (i.e., “tiny”) weekly surveys. The instant feedback gives company leaders a constant pulse on employee happiness, so they can quickly (and cost-effectively) identify major issues along with superstar employees who can lead morale.
3. The cloud elevates the social power of community. Traditional employee wellness programs have been limited to one-time biometric screenings, sporadic events, or one-to-one or one-to-many communications.Cloud-based solutions open the door for many-to-many connections, fostering broad, social employee engagement versus individual task completion. Gamification, points systems, and both individual and team challenges energize the experience while still addressing compliance-based elements. By tracking goals, issuing challenges, and aligning engagement, health, performance, culture, and talent strategies, cloud-based products and technologies help HR departments think bigger, build internal brands faster and reach new engagement heights.
As the cloud-based revolution unfolds and newer technologies come to market, it’s imperative for HR and executive teams to adopt tools that align with business goals and will actually be used. And while these tools allow for a new layer of transparency, they will shine a light in the darkest corners of your company. So be ready to act on what you learn. Democracy is floating on a cloud.
Top 3 voluntary products poised for takeoff in 2014
Originally posted January 06, 2014 by Caitlin Bronson on https://www.ibamag.com
As small businesses and individuals consider their healthcare strategies within the context of the Affordable Care Act, several industry research bodies suggest voluntary benefits and services will emerge as a boom market for producer sales in the next five years.
According to the Towers Watson 2013 Voluntary Benefits and Services Survey, the importance of voluntary products in a company’s rewards strategy will grow 27% in that timeframe, while nearly 90% of producers surveyed by Eastbridge Consulting Group said they expect sales of voluntary benefit plans to increase.
While the most common voluntary products like vision, dental and disability will continue to see stable sales, however, Towers Watson said the following three are the ones to watch in 2014.
If you’re not already offering these plans, now may be the time to make a concentrated push for clients looking to expand their rewards strategy in a cost-effective way.
Critical Illness
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to offer employee medical coverage under the Affordable Care Act, but many are looking to provide some sort of benefit plan to attract and retain quality workers.
As such, Towers Watson expects affordable medical benefits like critical illness or accident insurance to increase in sales in the upcoming two years. In a survey of small business employers, Towers Watson found 8% plan to introduce a critical illness plan in 2014 and another 13% are considering such a plan in 2015.
Accident plans are already popular, but another 9% of survey respondents said they are considering adding one by 2015.
This tallies with the experience of Tye Elliott, vice president for core broker sales with Aflac.
“Critical illness and accident plans have been thought of as secondary, but that’s not the case anymore,” Elliot said. “Small businesses want to invest in their employees, but they want to do it practically. At a very small out-of-pocket cost, [critical illness benefits] are amazing in terms of the loyalty that builds among your clients.”
Financial Counseling
Nearly 20% of small businesses told Towers Watson they were considering adding financial counseling benefits within the next two years, particularly during this fall’s 2014 enrollment season.
Towers Watson expects employers will want to increase workers’ retirement and personal finance knowledge as the burden of financial planning falls increasingly to individuals, who pay as little as $5 to $20 a month for such benefits.
Financial counseling can even be paid solely by employees through payroll deferral, meaning no cost for employers and increased ease and peace of mind for workers.
Identity Theft Protection
With widely publicized cyber breaches like the ones that afflicted Target and Snapchat this holiday season, identity theft protection is going to be a hot item in 2014.
In fact, a recent poll from LifeLock indicated nearly 60% of producers have fielded requests from commercial clients on identity protection benefits.
Like other voluntary packages, identity theft protection is available at a generally low cost to employers. Average coverage ranges from $7 to $20 a month, with most policies offering coverage of up to $1mn.
Greg Meyer of N.C.-based Worksite Benefit Advisors said the real market for producers is in small- to medium-sized businesses, as larger employers are often targeted directly by vendors. An effective pitch from an educated agent could do wonders.
“Brokers really need to show employers the impact that ID theft plays on lost productivity caused by ID theft of an employee,” Meyer said. “If you have an employee whose identity is stolen on the road, this not only impacts that company’s corporate credit card account, it impacts productivity because the road warrior will be off the road coping with the stress and drama that goes along with trying to recover and recoup his or her credit.”
According to Towers Watson, 20% of small businesses are considering adopting identity theft protection policies by 2015.