Benefits

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in February 2020, 52% of employees felt stressed, according to a PLANSPONSOR webinar.

There are new ways to think about benefits offerings and cost negotiations following the experience of the pandemic.

Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are also now influencing companies’ well-being programs, a Fidelity survey finds.

Not only do they build employees’ wealth at a faster rate than retirement plans, but they contribute to business performance and resilience.

The experience during the pandemic of those with and without retirement savings has highlighted the issue of income inequality, says Ed Farrington, with Natixis Investment Managers.

While it’s a crucial step, experts say promoting an inclusive workplace entails more than offering benefits to different employee demographics. 

U-Haul shared how it uses data and employee feedback to continually improve its health and well-being program and move up the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America list.

Instead of giving employees a list of benefit products, plan sponsors should consider presenting them as resources for different life stages, which can lead to better participation.

There are different needs competing for employees’ savings, but employers that want to promote savings in HSAs have several ways to do so.

They need to determine how emergency savings accounts will be invested and whether to match employees’ savings, as well as whether recordkeepers’ out-of-plan or in-plan options are best.

How decoupling HSAs from high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) could bring advantages to both the employee and employer.

Experts say such offerings could help improve employees’ financial wellness and retirement security.

Experts say offering company matches and/or seed money, as well as implementing automatic enrollment into the plans, can boost workers’ engagement with HSAs.

Plan sponsors can promote the HSA benefit as a part of employees’ financial wellness and liken its importance to other financial planning tools.

Experts say providers should be able to educate participants about how the accounts work and their triple tax benefits.

A session during the first day of PLANSPONSOR’s 2021 HSA Conference revealed ways employers can enhance their programs’ participation rates. 

Speakers at the virtual PLANSPONSOR 2021 HSA Conference discussed features of health savings accounts (HSAs) and rules regarding them.

Medicare only covers several types of medical costs for retirees, not including premiums and deductibles. Experts say it’s time for both groups to learn what that means.