Voluntary Benefits Key to Helping Employees with Rising Health Costs
With the cost of healthcare rising day by day, many employees are struggling to pay for their healthcare expenses. Take a look at this interesting article by Nick Otto from Employee Benefit Adviser and see how employers are leveraging their voluntary benefits to help employees offset some of their healthcare costs.
As workers continue to struggle with out-of-pocket medical bills, there’s a growing opportunity for benefits managers to hold more conversations with employees on voluntary benefits that can help offset costs.
“The rising cost of healthcare has driven many employers to offer supplemental group insurance products, often in conjunction with a health savings account,” says Elias Vogen, director of group insurance client relationships for financial services firm Securian. “This combination can be cost-effective for both employer and employee … and when employees are aware that these benefits are available to them through work they opt in at a high rate.”
According to a recent survey from Securian, 28% of employees with health insurance through work facing an out-of-pocket expense of $5,000 or more would use their personal savings to pay rather than other means, including an HSA (8%) or supplemental group insurance (7%).
Further, a majority of respondents said they do not know how they would pay for an out-of-pocket expense (21%), or that they would need to rely on credit cards (12%), a loan from their 401(k) (7%) or family/friends (4%), their tax return (5%) or by selling/pawning a personal possession (2%).
“Healthcare costs continue to rise and that almost certainly will not change anytime soon,” Vogen says. “As a result, employers and employees will continue to look for options to help ease the cost crunch. The popularity of benefits like accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance will continue to rise. These benefits are here to stay.”
A multi-touch strategy is the best way for employers to communicate with employees about voluntary benefits, according to Vogen.
“We recently conducted accident and critical illness insurance enrollment campaigns with a large employer that involved six points of contact: direct mail, e-mail, videos, digital materials, an interactive benefits guide and webinars,” he says. “By using a variety of channels, we were able to educate employees on the value of these voluntary benefits in ways that were convenient and comfortable to them.”
Voluntary benefits relieve a key concern for employees: While the survey revealed that paying for out-of-pocket medical expenses would be the top financial concern for a plurality (42%) of workers facing a debilitating injury, a critical illness diagnosis or a hospitalization, 58% say their top concern would be lost wages from work, the ability to pay for regular monthly expenses such as groceries, or the need to take on additional expenses such as lawn care or cleaning.
“If you break your leg, or your critically ill spouse needs specialized medical care out of state, these benefits can be used to help pay for expenses like hiring out your household chores, paying for travel costs, extra child care and more,” says Vogen. “You don’t have to turn in your receipts; you’re able to use the funds as you wish. The flexible nature of these benefits can be instrumental in warding off financial troubles from an unexpected health event.”
According to the survey, employees were asked if they are offered six different voluntary benefits by their employer:
· Life insurance (54% said yes)
· Disability insurance (38%)
· Health savings account (36%)
· Accident insurance (24%)
· Critical illness insurance (15%), and
· Hospital indemnity insurance (9%).
Further, 12% of employees said they are offered none of these benefits, and 18% said they are not sure if these benefits are offered by their employer.
Of these six benefits, life insurance is the most popular, with 75% of employees who have access to life insurance through their employer saying they are enrolled. “Accident insurance ranked second, with 64% of employees offered this insurance enrolled. Hospital indemnity insurance came in third at 59%, followed by disability insurance at 54%, health savings account at 52% and critical illness insurance at 47%,” says Vogen.
Employers recognize that healthcare costs have become burdensome to their workers and their families, and it’s important to remember that these cost increases have impacted employers’ bottom lines as well, according to Terry Holloway, an employee benefits adviser and executive vice president with insurance broker Cobbs Allen.
“Supplemental group insurance benefits are a cost-effective solution for both employers and employees,” Holloway says. “We have seen a significant increase in employer interest in these and other voluntary benefit platforms in the past five years, along with innovative enrollment solutions from insurance carriers.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Otto N. (2017 July 20). Voluntary benefits key to helping employees with rising health costs [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/voluntary-benefits-key-to-helping-employees-with-rising-health-costs?feed=00000152-a2fb-d118-ab57-b3ff6e310000
Employers Spend $742 per Employee for Wellness Program Incentives
Are you looking for new incentives to help your employees participate in your wellness program? Check out this interesting article by Brookie Madison from Employee Benefit Advisor on how employers are offering financial incentives in order to increase participation in their wellness programs.
Wellness programs are popular with employers but employees continue to need motivation to participate. Seventy percent of employers are investing in wellness programs, while 73% of employees say they are interested in wellness programs, but 64% of employees undervalue the financial incentives to join the wellness programs, according to UnitedHealthcare’s Consumer Sentiment Survey entitled “Wellness Check Up.”
Only 7% of employees understand the four basic terms of health care —premium, deductible, copayment and coinsurance — which is why UHC didn’t find it surprising that workers underestimate their financial incentives in wellness programs, says Rebecca Madsen, chief consumer officer for UnitedHealthcare.
Despite this disconnect between what employers are offering to help ensure their employees’ health and what employees are willing to do to maintain a healthy well-being, the most appealing incentives to employees for wellness programs are health insurance premium reductions (77%), grocery vouchers (64%) and health savings accounts (62%).
Employees find the financial incentives of the wellness programs appealing, yet only 24% of employees are willing to give up one to three hours of their time per week to exercise, attend wellness coaching sessions or research healthier recipes to eat.
“Unwilling to engage is part of the problem why a third of the country is obese and another third is overweight. We have a real problem in terms of keeping people healthy and that’s what we want to help address,” says Madsen.
Madsen recommends that employers promote their wellness programs and incentives multiple times throughout the year. Gift cards, reduction of premiums and contributing to health savings accounts are leading ways to reward employees. “Incentives on an ongoing basis get people engaged and motivated to participate for a long period of time,” says Madsen.
Wellness programs also provide a way for employers to adjust their benefit packages to be customized and be more than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. “Look at your insurance claims, work with insurance providers and identify common health challenges. See where you have prevalent healthcare needs and who your high risk populations are to develop programs that target those results,” suggests Madsen.
Wellness programs need endless support from advisers, insurance providers, consultants, consumers, friends, family members and employers in order to encourage employees to live healthy lifestyles, according to UnitedHealthcare.
Madsen suggests that employers have onsite biometric screenings. “Helping people know their numbers will help them understand where they have an opportunity to improve their health, which would make them motivated to engage more,” says Madsen.
New trends of wellness programs incorporate the use of activity trackers. Twenty-five percent of employees use an activity tracker and 62% would like to use one as part of a wellness program.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Madison B. (2017 June 28). Employers spend $742 per employee for wellness program incentives [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/employers-spend-742-per-employee-for-wellness-program-incentives
3 Traits of a Successful Well-Being Program for Employees
Do you know what it takes to create a successful wellness program for your employees? Check out this article by Maya Bach of Benefits Pro and find out the 3 traits all successful wellness programs have in common.
Well-being. You’ve likely heard the term used in and out of the workplace for how to become “a heathier you.”
According to a 2016 report by the Society for Human Resource Management, two thirds of employers offer a general wellness program.
Many companies invest in corporate well-being with the aim of increasing productivity, driving talent acquisition, employee retention and lowering health claim costs.
These businesses aim to consciously foster a company culture that values the mental, physical and financial health of their employees in and out of the workplace, recognizing that “health” means something different to everyone.
So, in the race to attract and retain talent, how can you create a well-being program that sets you apart?
1. Shared and customized programming
Research published in Harvard Business Review that examines the effectiveness of well-being programs highlights that engagement with wellbeing programming increases when employees feel a sense of ownership.
These programs that are built and shaped by staff through focus group sessions and channels, such as an internal communication platform where employees can voice suggestions for types of activities and timing of events, perform the best.
With the understanding that “being healthy” means something different for everyone at different points in their lives, programs should take on a flexible quality while seeking to meet the needs expressed directly by employees, thereby offering them a unique sense of ownership of the program.
2. Follow-through on feedback
Several studies suggest that organizations with a culture of keeping one’s word are more profitable.Throughout the employee experience, sharing and engaging on feedback actively is encouraged.
Following through, whether that means evening cardio-yoga classes or fresh avocados, demonstrates the company values feedback and staff ideas.
If the request can’t be completed, it’s important to close the loop by offering insight and attempting to offer alternative solutions.
Replying to a seemingly small request highlights that even a fast-paced, rapidly growing organization listens, thereby cultivating a culture of trust.
3. Offer multiple touch points
Not everyone is interested in lunch and learns or yoga classes, for that matter.
While it’s good to offer traditional program components – nutrition classes, cooking demos, weekly walking club, weight loss challenges – staff shouldn’t need to sign up for a class to engage with the program’s tenets.
To avoid adding another “to-do” to an employee’s already-full plate, digital signage with weekly “Did you know…” health facts followed by calls to action, healthy catering suggestions and smaller snack self-serve cups helpfully nudge employees to adopt healthier behaviors.
While well-being professionals should maintain a business-centered mindset when designing and implementing a program, it’s important to maintain a high degree of flexibility and visibility to provide a customized program.
Actively soliciting employee feedback, following through on specific requests and offering employees various ways to engage with core well-being tenets support program sustainability and longevity.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Bach M. (2017 July 3). 3 traits of a successful well-being program for employees [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2017/07/03/3-traits-of-a-successful-well-being-program-for-em?ref=mostpopular&page_all=1
4 Ways Employers can Prepare for Healthcare Changes
With all the proposed changes coming to healthcare. Take a look at this article by Mark Johnson from Employee Benefit News and see what you can do to prepare yourself and your employees for that call the changes coming to healthcare.
The new healthcare bill, revealed by U.S. Senate Republicans Thursday, could bring significant changes to organizations and their employees. Granted, there’s a long way to go before any Obamacare replacement legislation is signed. But health insurance is a complex component of running any business, and it’s important that employers start preparing for what might come.
Here are four actions items employers should be addressing now.
1. Create a roadmap. A compliance calendar is a helpful tool in identifying major deadlines. Employers are legally obligated to share health insurance and benefits updates with their employees by certain dates. Employees must be given reasonable notice — typically 30 days prior — of a major change in policy. There will likely be a set date for compliance and specific instructions around notice requirements that accompany the new legislation.
One step to compliance is adhering to benefit notice requirements. Benefit notices (i.e., HIPAA, COBRA, Summary Plan Descriptions, Special Health Care Notices, Health Care Reform, Form 5500 and others) vary by the size of the organization. Other steps can be more involved, such as required changes to plan design (e.g., copays, deductibles and coinsurance), types of services covered and annual and lifetime maximums, among others. Create a compliance calendar that reflects old and new healthcare benefit requirements so you can stay on track.
2. Rally the troops. Managing healthcare compliance spans several departments. Assemble key external and internal stakeholders by department, including HR, finance, payroll and IT.
Update the team on potential changes as healthcare legislation makes its way through Congress so they can prepare and be ready to execute should a new bill be signed. HR is responsible for communicating changes to employees and providing them with information on their plan and benefits. Finance needs to evaluate how changes in the plan will affect the company’s bottom line. Payroll must be aware of how much of an employee’s check to allocate to health insurance each month. In addition, payroll and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) are used to track and monitor changes in employee population, which helps employers determine benefit notice and compliance requirements. All departments need to be informed of the modified health insurance plan as soon as possible and on the same page.
3. Get connected. It’s essential to verify information as it’s released, via newsletters, seminars, healthcare carriers, payroll vendors and consultants. These resources can help employers navigate the evolving healthcare landscape. Knowledge of changes will empower an organization to handle them effectively.
4. Evaluate partnerships. There’s no better time for employers to examine their current partners, from an insurance consultant or broker to the accounting firm and legal counsel. An employer’s insurance consultant should be a trusted adviser in working on budgeting and benchmarking the company plan, administering benefits, evaluating plan performance and reporting outcomes. Finding an insurance solution that meets a company’s business goals, as well as its employee’s needs, can be accomplished with a knowledgeable, experienced insurance partner.
Staying ahead of healthcare changes is essential for organizations to have a smooth transition to an updated healthcare plan. Strategic planning, communication among departments and establishing the right partnerships are key. Employers must be proactive in addressing healthcare changes so they are ready when the time comes.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Johnson M. (2017 June 23). 4 ways employers can prepare for healthcare changes [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/5-ways-employers-can-prepare-for-healthcare-changes
How to Build Financial Wellness into a More Holistic Wellness Program
Are you looking for new ways to help your employees increase their financial wellness? Check out this great article by Michelle Clark from SHRM highlighting what HR can do to help employees engage with the company's benefits program to improve their financial situation.
The majority of HR professionals give their employees a financial health rating of “fair” and nearly 20 percent report that their employees are “not at all” financially literate according to a national SHRM survey.
That’s an issue. Because when employees are stressed about money they don’t turn their worry off at work – and the price is paid in lost productivity.
You can help fix the problem. Everyone wins when traditional employee wellness programs are recast in a more holistic, well-rounded way – with financial wellness an important cornerstone.
There is no cookie cutter solution. But if you build a customized program that’s responsive to specific requirements and comfort levels of different employee groups, it can be rewarding and valuable.
First, review your employee demographics to get an idea of what their financial situations may look like. For example, it’s understood that the majority of today’s workforce is comprised of three age groups: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Each has different financial stressors and preferences on how they prefer to receive assistance:
- Boomers on the verge of retirement are wondering if they can afford it or even want to retire. If they need to work, they are worried they’ll have a hard time finding a job.
- Generation X can barely think about retirement planning when they’re trying to cover the mortgage, raise kids, save money for college and shoulder responsibilities for aging parents.
- Millennials are burdened by student loan debt while trying to stretch their paychecks so they can live on their own instead of with their parents.
There also are vastly different ways each accesses support. Boomers may be okay with online resources and one-on-one coaching. But Millennials and Gen Xers may want more high-tech resources such as websites offering basic money courses and worksheets to help with budgets, housing or investment planning.
Once a solution has been established, the next step is getting people to partake. You don’t want to target employees, since privacy is a major consideration. Offering options allows employees to engage privately on their own terms. That’s why the online solutions are ideal for individual financial issues, offered in tandem with more on-site sessions on general concerns. And there’s always the potential of offering one-on-one financial counseling or financial wellness coaches to round out your program.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Clark M. (2017 June 16). How to build financial wellness into a more holistic wellness program [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/shrm-blog-june-2017-how-to-build-financial-wellness-into-a-more-holistic-we
Employees Aren't so Sure About Their Benefits Options
Are your employees having a hard time understanding all the benefits that are offered to them? Take a look at this article by Katie Kuehner-Hebert from Benefits Pro and find out the major questions that most employees seem to have about their employee benefits.
Employers have a conundrum: One-fifth of workers regret the health care benefit choices they make, but the same percentage of workers also concede they ignore any written educational materials about benefits their employers provided.
To make matters worse, according to Jellyvision’s 2017 ALEX Benefits Communication Survey, two-thirds don’t like in-person consultations -- not even if it’s within a group or one-on-one with a benefits expert.
So what’s an employer to do?
“The challenge is most people don’t want ‘education’ on these topics,” says Jellyvision chief executive Amanda Lannert. “No one wakes up with a burning desire to learn about HDHPs. In our experience, people respond best to plain-English communication that feels like they’re talking about benefits with a friend -- if benefits were a thing friends ever talked about.”
The good news is 82 percent of the 2,043 U.S. adults surveyed by Harris Poll say they’re satisfied with their employer’s benefits communication, and 86 percent feel their company has provided them with enough information to make informed decisions. A majority (69 percent) say they personally have spent either “a great deal” or “a lot” of time learning about their company’s benefits offerings.
However, while 89 percent say they generally understand their benefit options, more than a few aren’t too sure about all of the details.
For example, only 59 percent are correct in identifying the full cost of their health care plan, including their contribution and their employer’s contribution, and half (50 percent) say they are not knowledgeable about high-deductible health plans. More than half (54 percent) are unsure whether they can make changes to their insurance during qualified life events, and 43 percent are unclear on where to direct their health insurance questions.
“We think the number one biggest take-away of this entire survey is… employees want your help when choosing their health plans,” the authors write.
Indeed, more than half (55 percent) of all employees whose company offers health insurance say they would like help from their employer when choosing a health plan. Roughly half (49 percent) say the decision-making process is very stressful, and 36 percent feel the open enrollment process at their company is extremely confusing.
Jellyvision’s survey asked respondents to react to a possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, particularly as it relates to employer-provided health insurance plans, and found a majority (61 percent) don’t think a repeal would affect them personally.
When asked about keeping certain provisions of the ACA, 80 percent say it’s “absolutely essential” or “very important” to keep coverage of preexisting conditions, 78 percent say that about free preventative care, and 67 percent say that about coverage of adult children up to age 26.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Kuehner-Hebert K. (2017 June 22). Employees aren't so sure about their benefits options [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2017/06/22/employees-arent-so-sure-about-their-benefits-optio
Unrealistic Expectations Muddy Employee Retirement Planning
Many younger employees have unrealistic dreams when it comes to planning their retirement. Here is a great article by Paula Aven Gladych from Employee Benefit Adviser on what you can do to help your millennial employees plan for their future retirement.
Three generations of U.S. investors accept that they are largely responsible for funding their own retirements. But many of them harbor unrealistic hopes of receiving a sizable inheritance as part of their funding plan.
These were among the conclusions drawn by a recent survey of 750 individual investors with a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets—including 223 millennials, 251 Gen Xers and 236 baby boomers.
The 2017 study was conducted by the U.S. research arm of Natixis Global Asset Management, a French company that is one of the 20 largest asset managers in the world. It found that 78% of investors recognize that more of the retirement funding burden is falling on their shoulders, since their employers have begun offering defined contribution retirement plans in lieu of defined benefit pension plans. And many also believe that Social Security won’t be available to them by the time they retire. But a significant percentage (43%) hope to receive an inheritance that will help them compensate for any savings shortfall.
This is especially true of millennials, who are twice as likely as baby boomers to expect that a financial windfall from their parents or grandparents will play an important role in meeting their retirement needs. Per the survey, 62% of millennials, compared to only 31% of boomers, anticipate receiving an inheritance that will help fund their retirement.
That’s a major disconnect, says Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Durable Portfolio Construction Research Center, which carried out the research. He points to findings that 40% of baby boomers don’t plan to leave an inheritance and 57% don’t think they will have anything left to pass down to their children or grandchildren. Only 56% even have a will in place.
Further exacerbating the situation, many of the investors surveyed underestimate the amount of savings they will need for retirement. They assume that they will only need replace 63% of their pre-retirement income, according to Goodsell, which is at odds with the retirement industry’s more conservative target of 75% to 85%.
Looking to the kids
Apart from an inheritance, many of the investors surveyed also believe they can count on their children for some sort of support when they retire, either through shared living arrangements or some type of stipend or allowance. “Retirement has become a multigenerational question,” Goodsell observes.
On the other hand, only 37% of the respondents say they expect Social Security to be an important source of income for their retirement. “There’s a great deal of skepticism,” notes Goodsell, “which should serve as a motivation to plan ahead for retirement and set realistic savings and spending goals.” Unfortunately, he adds, many investors’ decision making is clouded by unrealistic expectations.
Workplace 401(k) plans encourage savings discipline, since they make it easy for employees to save automatically. But in and of themselves they are insufficient, says the Natixis researcher, and employers need to help their employees make better financial determinations by providing them with retirement planning tools, including access to a financial adviser.
“Access is critically important,” he says. “Because responsibility is being shifted off to individuals, we need to make sure they have access to the right resources and understand how to use them.”
Key topics that need to be addressed, according to the survey, include financial planning basics, such as budgeting; how to manage and plan for required minimum distributions; tax, estate and long-term care planning, as well as managing debt and credit cards and understanding investment risk.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Gladych P. (2017 June 25). Unrealistic expectations muddy employee retirement planning [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/unrealistic-expectations-muddy-employee-retirement-planning?brief=00000152-1443-d1cc-a5fa-7cfba3c60000
Millennials Lead Generational Split on Health Benefits
Did you know that millennial employees are more likely to focus on the benefits and costs associated with their healthcare plans compared to older employees? Take a look at this article by Amanda Eisenberg from Employee Benefit Adviser on why millennials are so much more involved with their healthcare plans.
Millennials are more likely to partake in cost-saving healthcare decisions than their older counterparts, according to new analysis from EBRI.
Employees born in 1977 or later, the millennial age range in this analysis, are well informed about their health plan and report higher levels of satisfaction with the health plan choices and financial aspects of their health plans than baby boomers and Gen Xers, according to the 2017 “Consumer Engagement in Health Care and Choice of Health Plan” report.
Millennials also are more likely to ask for a generic instead of a brand name drug (47%), develop a budget to manage healthcare expenses (35%) and check whether the health plan would cover care or medication (57%) compared to Generation X or baby boomers, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonpartisan research institute based in Washington, D.C.
Paul Fronstin, co-author of the study, attributed the generational attitude differences to the frequency employees interact with the health system and familiarity with technology.
“Older people are not used to using tools like online calculators to figure out health costs,” says EBRI’s director of health research and education program.
On the other hand, older generations have more experience buying and using healthcare than millennials, who are unlikely to contact cancer, heart disease and other illnesses that generally plague middle-aged and older employees, says Fronstin.
“It may be less stressful to pick the wrong plan and it may be coming out in [millennials’] attitudes,” he says. “Millennial attitudes could easily change as they get older and use more healthcare.”
The data comes from a 2015 poll of polled 3,590 adults between the ages of 21 and 64 who had health insurance provided through an employer (82%), purchased directly from a carrier or purchased through a government exchange.
The data, while two years old, doesn’t change the underlying attitudes toward healthcare options and costs, says Fronstin.
Yet determining those attitudes and a corresponding benefits plan is a major struggle for employers, he says.
Baby boomers and millennials “are both big segments of the population that most employers rely on,” Fronstin says. “You’ve got different groups here. If you want to be as effective as possible and get the most productivity, you need to understand where they’re coming from.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Eisenberg A. (2017 May 29). Millennials lead generational split on health benefits [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/millennials-lead-generational-split-on-health-benefits?brief=00000152-1443-d1cc-a5fa-7cfba3c60000
What's Really Draining Employee 401(k) Accounts
Are your employees placing enough emphasis in their retirement? Here is a great article by Cynthia Loh from Employee Benefit Advisor on what employers can do to help their employees properly utilize their 401(k)s.
When it comes to debating the root cause of why Americans, as a whole, are short at least $6.8 trillion in retirement savings, it’s never long before someone points a finger at fees.
But while fees do their part to erode retirement nest eggs, there’s actually something far more detrimental to a comfortable retirement: the investing behavior of savers themselves. In fact, behavioral mistakes could cost savers 1.56% per year.
How does poor behavior add up to such a cost? Here are three core employee 401(k) missteps, and how plan sponsors can limit them.
1. Employees often make poor fund selections
Employees generally find it challenging to choose their own investments, and the task often ends up costing them.
For many employees, the initial obstacle of setting up a 401(k) plan stops them in their tracks. A large fund line-up can cause analysis paralysis, and actually reduce participation rates. One study found that for every additional 10 funds added to a set of plan options, participation drops by about 2%.
For those employees who do participate, they are left to fend for themselves with complex fund lineups. Ideally, they would establish an asset allocation with a correct level of risk and an optimal diversification for that risk tolerance. Unfortunately, a 2015 study by Financial Engines found that 61% of unadvised plan participants had inappropriate risk levels.
Finally, it’s not uncommon for employees to attempt investment selection without fully understanding proper diversification. Instead of balancing risk, participants might divide their money evenly between the options on an investment menu. For example, if six out of 10 options are stock funds, they are likely to end up at roughly 60% stocks. If 18 out of 20 options are stock funds, they will end up with 90% stocks.
So, what should you, the plan sponsor, do when your employees face a 401(k) situation that seems to inhibit participation, leads to unnecessary risk, and fails to encourage proper diversification?
Solution: Consider offering managed 401(k) accounts as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative
If employees find it challenging to make fund selections confidently, why not build in default investment advice to your plan? A Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) provides a standard, default offer of a portfolio customized to each employee. By constructing a diversified, optimized portfolio for each employee as a standard service, your 401(k) plan can help employees avoid uninformed decisions about their investments. The fund selection process will be more straightforward for new employees. As such, they may be less likely to opt for unduly high risk levels, and, by default, their investments will then be properly diversified.
In other words, rather than providing employees with a list of ingredients, provide them with a prepared meal customized to their palate and set up to satisfy their financial health.
2. 401(k) participants often “set it and forget it”
For those participants that successfully navigate participation, asset allocation, and fund selection, the ongoing maintenance of a 401(k) still presents challenges. Many plan participants choose their deferral rates and funds on the first day of work and might not change anything for the entire time they’re at that employer — or even after they leave. Meanwhile, they’re missing out on the benefits that could be had by rebalancing or switching investments based on macro trends, such as an ETF price decrease.
Plan sponsors should consider all the options available to them for helping employees understand the right asset allocation, appropriate fund allocations, ongoing portfolio maintenance — and the path forward to a secure, stable retirement.
Solution: Enable automation to help your employees maintain their 401(k)
401(k) maintenance is essential, but it shouldn’t fall on individual employees to disrupt their daily lives to keep things up-to-date. Technology can make the task of maintaining 401(k) investments far easier for employees.
If employees don’t want to actively revisit their deferral rates and asset allocations on an annual basis, automation can handle the process of portfolio rebalancing and tax optimization for the participant. While target-date funds (TDFs) have offered limited automatic adjustment for years, today, 401(k) plans built with automated advice tend to offer more personalized optimization for employees. For instance, TDFs usually rely on a generic set of assumptions about their investors to determine how they rebalance and adjust risk over time. Automated 401(k) plans can offer personalized rebalancing, tax optimization, and asset reallocation, solving for an individual’s specific characteristics and goals.
3. Poor investing behavior is a workplace issue
Employees talk to each other about their benefits, worry together from time to time, and often ask one another for advice. In short, water-cooler talk plays a role in how participants behave with regards to their 401(k).
In any given office, there’s at least one employee — we’ll call him Gary — who fancies himself a stock trading guru. Gary checks the morning headlines and stock tickers. He’s always offering unsolicited financial advice to his fellow colleagues. And he spends a lot of time at the water cooler.
For novice employees, having somebody like Gary in the office can either inspire them to gain financial literacy or drastically sway their investing behavior. As the plan’s fiduciary, the 401(k) plan sponsor should make sure the right financial advice reaches all employees, so that water-cooler talk from people like Gary doesn’t play too large a role in employees’ investing behavior.
Solution: Offer personalized financial advice in your 401(k) plan
A responsible way to give employees the information they need to make good decisions is to offer personalized financial advice with your 401(k) plan. Advice from a fiduciary adviser helps participants make decisions for their own individual situation, removing the confusion of what they hear at work, see on television, or learn from their peers.
That advice becomes more valuable when it takes into account personal goals such as buying a home and covers all assets, including 401(k) assets. Some 401(k) platforms have educational features built in that can anticipate when a participant has a question or appears confused and serves up tailored information that can help employees make a sound decision. Others make use of customer service centers that make it easy for employees to ask questions to experts when they need to, rather than front-loading them with information during an orientation.
Save your employees the cost of poor investing behavior
When it comes down to it, plan sponsors often underestimate just how confusing 401(k) plans can be for employees. Most employees know that saving for retirement is important, but few actually understand all they should do to maximize the benefit of their 401(k) contributions.
Help your employees save money by selecting a 401(k) solution that helps to minimize behavioral mistakes. Poor fund selection, lack of account maintenance, and bad advice shouldn’t detract from employees’ results. With elegant solutions like a managed account QDIA, investment automation, and expert advice, you can save your employees time, money and anxiety.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Loh C. (2017 June 13). What's really draining employee 401(k) accounts [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/whats-really-draining-employee-401-k-accounts
Workers Willing to Leave a Job if Not Praised Enough
Praising your employees on a frequent basis is a great way to increase employee engagement and productivity. Take a look at this article by Brookie Madison from Employee Benefit News on how employees are more likely to leave a job if they do not feel like they're getting enough praise.
Employers may be spending more than $46 billion a year on employee recognition, reviews and work anniversaries, but recent research shows it could be worth the investment to commit even more to the effort.
Although more than 22% of senior decision-makers don’t think that regular recognition and thanking employees at work has a big influence on staff retention, 70% of employees say that motivation and morale would improve “massively” with managers saying thank you more, according to a Reward Gateway study.
By not receiving regular feedback on their performance, employees feel they are not progressing at work, says Glenn Elliott, CEO of Reward Gateway. In fact, nearly one in two employees reported they would leave a company if they did not feel appreciated at work, the study found.
This is particularly true of millennials, Elliott says, who make up the largest segment of the workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To this generation, “Saying thank you for good work or good behavior shows you values those things and want to see more of that behavior,” he says.
Overall, employees want praise and recognition more frequently than at annual awards ceremonies. Although 90% of senior decision-makers believe they prioritize showing appreciation and thanks in a timely way, more than 60% of workers would like to see their colleagues’ good work praised more frequently by managers and leaders.
“On average, businesses spend 2% on recognition,” says Elliott. “Businesses can increase effects of recognition by moving money from tenure-based to valued- and behavior-based recognition.”
More than eight out of 10 workers (84%) say praise should be given on a continual, year-round basis.
The Reward Gateway study polled 500 workers and 500 decision-makers in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Madison B. (2017 June 11). Workers willing to leave a job if not praised enough [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitnews.com/news/workers-willing-to-leave-a-job-if-not-praised-enough