How will the “Eight Common Challenges in Employee Benefits” affect your business
this year?
Through our ClearPoint Retirement Plan Solution offering, we help our plan sponsor clients deliver the highest
quality retirement program to the employees through our process driven service model. With leading-edge technology and
service tools, we help you save time, reduce exposure to fiduciary liability and address regulatory requirements.
- What can I do to control the significant rise in health care costs for both my company and employees?
Health care costs in recent years have been rising at an annual compounded rate of over 10%, far outpacing the rise in normal inflation and wages. As this trend continues, the cost of your overall benefits package becomes an ever-increasing challenge to your operating budget. Through the use of new plan design options and employee education, there are ways that you can begin to manage these costs.
- What are HRA’s and HSA’s that I’ve been hearing about so much?
HRA’s are Health Reimbursement Accounts. These accounts are funded by the employer, and basically act as a credit to help with deductibles and other plan expenses that an employee might have. HSA’s are Health Savings Accounts. They can be funded by both the employee and/or employer. Regardless of who funds the account, the employee owns this account and may use it to pay for qualified medical expenses. HSA’s can only be used in conjunction with a qualifying High Deductible Health Plan. Both HRA’s and HSA’s are becoming more common as health care continues to move towards Consumer Driven plan designs, which is putting the power of choice and responsibility back into the hands of employees.
- I want to make sure my benefits program is competitive in the marketplace. How do we compare it to others?
The primary purpose of a benefits package, along with a sound compensation program, is to allow you to both attract and retain valuable employees. Through the use of benchmarking and by utilizing the experience and knowledge of industry professionals, you can make sure that you are offering the most competitive benefits package you can given your budget.
- Given the rapid rise in health care costs, is there any way that I can forecast cost and budget over the next few years?
As benefits become an increasing percentage of your payroll cost, your company’s ultimate success depends on your ability to accurately forecast expenses. Through proper plan design and the knowledge of pricing trends, you can appropriately plan for this cost.
- Benefits are a significant and expensive piece of my employees overall compensation, but I oftentimes don’t feel that they understand or appreciate that. What can I do to help them understand?
The overall value of your benefits package is obviously greatly reduced if your employees don’t truly understand what they are getting. Since benefits are generally a significant piece of overall compensation, it is very important that employees understand the cost and value of benefits. By using full compensation illustrations and other tools, employees can gain a greater understanding and appreciation of their true compensation beyond base pay.
- I don’t feel that our employees really understand all of their benefits. How can we do a better job of communicating and educating them?
Many items in a benefits package can be confusing to the average employee. To gain the most value and appreciation from your program, employees must clearly understand what benefits are being offered, and how to best utilize them. Each company has specific challenges when communicating benefits given the type of employees that it has and where they are located. Through the use of specialized employee materials and meetings, a communication strategy can be developed to most effectively reach all of your employees.
- How can I use technology to make administration and communication of these plans easier?
Administration of your benefits program can be very time consuming, especially if you are dealing with multiple insurance companies and vendors. Through the use of new technology, you can simplify the process and free up resources by utilizing online billing and a wide variety other tools that are now available in the marketplace.
- Are there other benefits that I can add to my current program?
As companies look to enhance their benefit packages and meet employee needs, there are several non-traditional benefits that are gaining popularity. Coverage such as Group Long Term Care, employer-sponsored college savings plans, and several other programs can provide significant value for employees that are looking for more than what a typical benefit package can offer.