| | Benefit Briefs | | Employers Using Multichannel Benefits Communications | | Employers are embracing a multichannel approach
to convey benefits information to their employees, according to a research
brief from The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The brief, “Delivering
the Benefits Message,” says employers are doing so to meet the needs and
preferences of their employees. Group meetings and seminars are still
considered the most successful communication methods, with 74% of employers
using them with great to moderate success. | | While nearly half of enrollees in traditional
managed care health plans are satisfied with their health coverage, that number
is decreasing, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). In
2013, 44% of traditional-plan participants were extremely or very satisfied
with out-of-pocket costs (for health care services other than for prescription
drugs), while 20% of high-deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollees and 31% of
consumer-drive health plan (CDHP) participants were extremely or very
satisfied. However, satisfaction has been trending upward among CDHP enrollees
in recent years, according to the EBRI. | | Employers Have Strategy to Stem Health Care Costs | | Health care benefit costs at large employers are
expected to increase 6.5% in 2015, slightly lower than 2014’s rate of increase,
according to a survey from the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). Most
employers say they will be able to stem increases even more as a result of
changes they are making to their benefit plans. The number of employers
offering employees a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) as the only health
benefit option is expected to increase by nearly 50% in 2015. Nearly one-third
(32%) of employers surveyed plan to do this in 2015, compared with 22% this
year. | | Small 401(k) plans often outperform large ones
on a number of key metrics, according to analysis of Form 5500 data by Judy
Diamond Associates. Judy Diamond’s proprietary 401(k) plan benchmarking
methodology assigns a 0 to 100 score for publicly reported retirement plans
based on the most recent Form 5500 plan disclosure documents from the
Department of Labor (DOL). Micro 401(k) plans, with 10 or fewer participants,
had an average plan score of 68.3 out of 100, while plans with at least 100
participants scored 52.3 over the same period. “There are a few reasons why the
smallest plans are really driving ahead, and perhaps the most important factor
is the participation rates,” Eric Ryles, managing director of Judy Diamond
Associates, tells PLANSPONSOR. “If you have a company that has 10 employees and
all 10 are participating, that’s 100% participation and that is fantastic.” | | | Buyer's Market | | LPL Launches Financial Education Website | | LPL Financial LLC has launched its Worksite
Financial Solutions website to help employees gain confidence in their
financial future. LPL Financial’s main objective in launching the site is to
demystify retirement by offering plan participants education about their
options through different life stages. “Providing online financial tools to
participants—such as calculators, videos, articles and tutorials—is intended to
help them make better financial decisions throughout their careers and become
more confident about their futures,” Adam Sokolic, senior vice president of LPL
Retirement Partners, based in San Diego, explains. | | Checklist for Evaluating Private Health Care Exchanges | | Private exchanges have emerged as a potential
health benefits delivery option for employers. A private exchange is a health
benefits marketplace to which an employer can direct its employees to purchase
health coverage from a single or multiple participating organizations,
including insurance carriers and provider networks. Human resources consulting
firm Findley Davies offers a checklist of issues and questions it addresses
when helping employers evaluate private exchanges. | | | Economic Events | | The U.S. Census Bureau announced
that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments
for June, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes,
was estimated at $1,346.7 billion, up 0.3% from May and up 4.7% from June 2013.
Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not
for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,743.1 billion,
up 0.4% from May and up 5.8% from June 2013.
Advance estimates of U.S.
retail and food services sales for July, adjusted for seasonal variation and
holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $439.8
billion, virtually unchanged from the previous month, and 3.7% above July 2013.
Total sales for the May through July 2014 period were up 4.2% from the same period
a year ago. The May to June 2014 percent change was unrevised from 0.2%. Retail
trade sales were virtually unchanged from June, and 3.4% above last year.
Health and personal care stores were up 7.3% from July 2013, and auto and other
motor vehicle dealers were up 6.4% from last year.
| | | Market Mirror | | Yesterday, the Dow closed 91.26 points
(0.55%) higher at 16,651.80, the NASDAQ climbed 44.87 points (1.02%) to
4,434.13, and the S&P 500 gained 12.97 points (0.67%) to finish at
1,946.72. The Russell 2000 increased 8.75 points (0.77%) to 1,141.78, and the
Wilshire 5000 was up 141.34 points (0.69%) at 20,617.51.
On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares changed
hands, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues nearly 3 to 1. On the
NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares traded, with a near 2 to 1 lead for advancers.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note
was up 9/32, bringing its yield down to 2.418%. The price of the 30-year
Treasury bond increased 19/32, decreasing its yield to 3.246%.
| | | Rules & Regulators | | Financial Engines Accused of Patent Infringement | | GRQ Investment Management alleges in a new lawsuit
that Financial Engines Inc. and its subsidiary advisory firm violated two
patents related to digital investment advice and managed accounts. GRQ alleges
that Financial Engines, in delivering computer-based 401(k) plan advice
services, violated U.S. Patents entitled “Systems and Methods for Improving
Investment Performance.” GRQ describes itself as a firm “formed to monetize the
inventions of the late Brian Tarbox and Mark Greenstein.” Background materials
included in the complaint show that, in 1996, Tarbox assisted William Sharpe,
the founder of Financial Engines, by providing him with guidance on an initial
business model for an independent advisory firm. Tarbox is also said to have
explained this business model to at least one third party, so that Sharpe could
obtain funding during the initial stages of Financial Engines’ development. | | Fidelity to Settle Excessive Fee Suits | | Fidelity Investments has
agreed to a settlement of two lawsuits charging it with subjecting its own
401(k) plan participants to high investment fees. Under the settlement
agreement, without admitting any wrongdoing, Fidelity will pay up to $12
million to settle the suits, with the first payment being made to an escrow
account in the amount of $1.2 million within 10 days of preliminary approval of
the settlement by the court. In addition, the settlement calls for several
items of affirmative relief, including: The default investment option under the
plan shall be the Fidelity Freedom Funds-Class K, and the plan shall allow plan
participants access to a large number of Fidelity and non-Fidelity mutual funds. | | | Small Talk | | ON
THIS DATE: In
1848, the Oregon Territory was
established. In 1935, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. The act created
unemployment insurance and guaranteed retirement income for the elderly. In 1945, it was announced by U.S.
President Truman that Japan had surrendered unconditionally. The surrender
ended World War II. In 1953, the
whiffle ball was invented. In 1980, People
for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was incorporated. In 1995, Shannon Faulkner became the first
female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina’s state military
college. She quit the school less than a week later. In 2003, a major outage knocked out power across the eastern United
States and parts of Canada. Beginning at 4:10 p.m. ET, 21 power plants shut
down in just three minutes. Fifty million people were affected, including
residents of New York, Cleveland and Detroit, as well as Toronto and Ottawa,
Canada. | | SURVEY SAYS: A
recent survey found most employees say they can feel successful without earning
large paychecks. This week, I’d like to know, are you satisfied with your
salary, and what salary would make you feel successful? You may respond to this
week’s survey by 6 p.m. Pacific time today. | | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy. | | News
from PLANSPONSOR.com
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