Newsdash Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy from PLANSPONSOR
March 3rd, 2015
Benefits & Administration
Research Finds Little Cost Difference from Auto-Enrollment
By increasing defined contribution (DC) retirement plan participation, automatic enrollment likely increases employer compensation costs as previously unenrolled workers receive matching retirement plan contributions, but researchers have found this not to be true. A report suggests employers that use automatic enrollment in their defined contribution retirement plans may be using deferral and match rates that offset the costs of higher participation.Read more >
Employers Want to Help with Retirement Health Costs
Employers are taking a number of steps relating to health care costs to improve the retirement readiness of their current employees, a survey from Towers Watson finds. Employers are offering account-based health plans (ABHPs) (65%); educating employees and retirees about the cost they will incur beyond the employer subsidy (53%); promoting health, wellness and disease management programs to help retirees improve health and reduce out-of-pocket costs (49%); and offering financial planning resources and decision support tools to help employees understand and plan for the cost of medical coverage during retirement (41%). While employers want to maintain the promise of retiree health benefits to employees, a number of forces are influencing them to change their approach.Read more >
Paper Highlights ROI for Financial Education
An analysis from Purchasing Power, a voluntary benefits provider, suggests employers that invest in workplace financial education programs can eliminate employee stress and boost productivity—but strong outcomes require in-depth education programs that promote lifelong financial planning skills. “Employers may introduce a new benefit or two that put a Band-Aid on their employees’ financial stress or help with a short-term financial issue, but only a financial wellness education program is going to address the real problems and begin to change behavior,” says Elizabeth Halkos, chief revenue officer at Purchasing Power.Read more >
Economic Events
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that construction spending during January was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $971.4 billion, 1.1% below the revised December estimate of $982.0 billion. The January figure is 1.8% above the January 2014 estimate of $954.6 billion.
MOST READ ARTICLES