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2nd Quarter 2009 Executive
Summaries
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Offering voluntary benefits can help further important objectives for both employers and employees. Voluntary benefits—such as dental, long-term care and life insurance—can improve employers' employee retention and cost-control objectives, while also addressing employees' growing concerns about a variety of financial issues. This article reviews recent research about employer and employee concerns, explains how voluntary benefit offerings can help meet those concerns, and gives employers information about what steps they should take to strategically implement a successful voluntary benefit program.
Making Benefits Work at Work—Getting More Bang for Your Benefit Buck: One-on-One Guidance Can Help Employees Understand —and Appreciate —Their Benefits
by Luke J. Vandermillen, Principal Financial Group
Changes in the landscape of employee benefit plans—including higher benefit costs, the shift to personal responsibility and the expansion of voluntary benefit offerings—are making effective employee communication about the value of employer-provided benefits more important than ever. A worksite communication program that offers one-on-one education and guidance from a specialized team of financial professionals, at the worksite and on company time, can meet the needs of both employers and employees.
Where Is Everyone? The Rise of Workplace Flexibility
by Carol Sladek, Hewitt Associates and Ellie Hollander, AARP
All evidence points to corporate America being on the cusp of an explosion of flexibility. This article makes a business case for workplace flexibility and describes the current roadblocks to its expansion. It provides employers with tips about how to best overcome those obstacles and develop a solid strategy to reap the benefits of workplace flexibility. Employers that “get” the business case for flexible work arrangements will reap the rewards through increased employee engagement and loyalty, which in turn will drive their business to even higher levels of performance and productivity.
Replicating the Guaranteed Income of DB Plans in a DC World
by Melissa Kahn and Roberta Rafaloff, MetLife
With the shift away from traditional defined benefit (DB) plans putting increasing pressure on defined contribution (DC) plans such as 401(k)s to be the primary source of retirement income, employees need education and advice about the “decumulation” stage of retirement. As plan sponsors review their plans to comply with the Pension Protection Act (PPA), now is an ideal time to consider the value of completing their DC plan by adding guaranteed lifelong income as a distribution option. With an income annuity, employees get all the benefits of a DB pension plan, without the liabilities and costly administration for employers.
12 Important Things Employers Should Be Doing With Severance Programs in Light of the Current Economy
by Robert B. Jones, CEBS, Innovative Compensation and Benefits Concepts
Many factors have led to greater numbers of reductions in force (RIFs) and mass severance programs as announced by employers. Following the right human resource path in these instances can be the quickest way for a company to successfully emerge from a difficult period of reorganization and downsizing. This article provides a brief historical background about severance programs in the United States and recommends 12 important steps employers should be taking with their severance programs in the current economic and legal environment.
Phased Retirement—An Important Part of the Evolving Retirement Scene
by Anna Rappaport, Anna Rappaport Consulting
As patterns of work and retirement are changing, changes are needed in societal patterns, legislation and regulation to give workers and employers better options. The primary focus of this article is creative working arrangements. The author argues that creative work options are important and that phased retirement helps meet the needs of both individuals and employers. She provides practical information to employers and encourages improvements in the environment to make these programs easier to implement and utilize. The article is based on testimony provided to the ERISA Advisory Council in July 2008, as well as other continuing work on phased retirement.
How to Make Defined Benefit Pension Plans Attractive to 21st Century Employers
by Jeffrey R. Kamenir, Consultant
It is highly unlikely that many new defined benefit (DB) plans will be established under the current DB plan system, which is unfortunate given a DB plan's ability to provide retirees with predictable retirement income that will not run out. This article provides a blueprint for what could be a sustainable new DB plan system. The goal is to devise a new DB plan that will experience less cost volatility, the hope being that if plan sponsors know that costs will be stable from year to year, they may be more inclined to sponsor a DB plan (or keep one going).
Full text copies of these articles are available through the INFOSOURCE™ Document Delivery Service. Article reprints are also available in quantities of 100 or more. For information, call the Publications Department at (888) 33-IFEBP. You can order your subscription (reprints and back issues) online. Four issues for $125 (or $95 for CEBS registrants).