At a time when people in the United States are working longer hours and taking second jobs to pay the bills and save for retirement, a new Gallup poll found the average age that Americans are retiring was 62 in 2014, up from age 59 in 2010. As a result, our economy is less productive...
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Employers Offer Increasingly Generous Benefit Packages to Top Earners
The rich get richer, and the wealthy get far nicer benefit packages too. A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts Foundation found employers spend a median of 38 cents of each compensation dollar on benefits, and those earning more receive more generous benefit packages too. “Controlling for other factors, jobs with higher pay generally...
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The Pros and Cons of Paid Sick Leave
Five states, 22 cities, and one county in the United States mandate paid sick leave benefits, making the United States the only country among 22 developed nations that doesn’t guarantee paid leave if someone falls ill or has to care for a sick family member. President Obama in 2015 signed an executive order requiring federal...
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Implementation of Cadillac Tax Delayed for Two Years
Implementation of the “Cadillac Tax,” a tax on expensive employer health plans, has been pushed back from 2018 until 2020. Many, though, would like to see the tax go away completely. More formally known as Section 9001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 40 percent excise tax will be levied against “excess” benefits and...
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Why Prescription Drugs Cost so Much and What You Can Do About It
Prescription drug costs rose by 12.6 percent in 2014 and by 10 percent in 2015 — well beyond the U.S. inflation rate. And in some extreme cases, specialty drug costs increased more than 5,000 percent. What can employers do to control these soaring costs? In 2015, Martin Shkreli, chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, was...
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Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Retirement Plans
When considering retirement plans, the many options — not to mention complicated tax rules — leave many employers uncertain about the best plan for their company. One of the basic decisions employers face is whether to offer qualified or non-qualified retirement plans, or some combination of both. Here’s a closer look at the pros and...
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What Is a Flexible Spending Account?
As employers cut back on benefits or require employees to contribute more, establishing a flexible spending account (FSA) gives employees a valuable benefit at little cost to the employer. A flexible spending account (FSA) is a tax-favored program offered by employers that allows their employees to pay for eligible out-of-pocket medical and dependent care expenses...
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How Medicare Works with Your Medical Benefits
Due to longer life spans, higher medical costs and recession-impacted savings, the percentage of Americans staying in the workforce past age 65 is increasing. How does this affect your medical benefit plans? According to U.S. Census Bureau projections, the percentage of Americans age 65 and older will increase by more than 67 percent between 2015...
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Meet Your Insurance Professionals
The only insurance professional you might ever meet face-to-face is your retail insurance agent or broker. But if you have special insurance needs, other insurance professionals are ready to help. Insurance agents: Although many people use the terms interchangeably, insurance brokers and agents have different roles. Agents owe their primary duty to the insurer they...
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Smart Phones and Overtime
A survey of employed email users finds: 22% are expected to respond to work email when they’re not at work. 50% check work email on the weekends. 46% check work email on sick days. 34% check work email while on vacation. Source: Mother Jones In several cases, non-exempt employees have sued their employers for unpaid...
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