• Swine flu takes a back seat
• News you can use: Obama not quite ready for ‘Primetime’
• Survey: Employers stand by mental health benefits
• Obama extends federal same-sex benefits
• Retirement readiness strikes a global chord
• A reality check on employee benefits
• Kennedy's health bill shakes up reform debate
• Hard times affect older and younger workers differently
• Time to have 'the talk'
• New study tracks employer exodus from retiree medical
• Exercise Corner: Thinking through your workout
• Recipe Corner: Grilled Packet Potatoes

Despite the World Health Organization's upgrading of the swine flu pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the issue is “not a top priority for plan sponsors right now,” acknowledges Brian Lindenberg, worldwide partner with Mercer.

Approximately 41% of companies surveyed recently by Mercer admit they do not have an HR policy in place for health-related emergencies, yet many acknowledge they have employees in areas where cases of influenza A (H1N1) have been confirmed.

“We’re not seeing employers doing a lot differently,” says Lindenberg. “They [organizations] acknowledge it exists but there’s still some skepticism about how it will really affect them.”

More than half (53%) of employers surveyed were considering whether to create back-up and contingency plans in response to the outbreak. Others said they planned to restrict or cancel business travel (43%) or allow employees to work at home (41%).

Other steps include voluntary quarantine for employees exposed to risk (27%), enforced quarantine on employees judged at risk (24%), canceling meetings or conferences (21%), screening staff or visitors from travel (20%), requiring medical check-ups (12%) and reviewing health or insurance plans (10%). One-quarter (24%) says they are taking no special actions.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 23, 2009

President Obama last night hosted a townhall meeting at the White House that aired as a one-hour special on ABC’s news show “Primetime Live.” Taking on questions from everything from how to pay doctors to how to pay for reform overall, the president offered few specifics to add to the ongoing debate on overhauling the nation’s health care system.

Throughout the hour-long special, Obama returned often to the need to shift the physician payment structure to encourage more medical students to become primary care doctors rather than specialists. One student who attended the event told the president that she would be $300,000 in debt when she finished her schooling, but still wants to go into primary care. Obama responded that the need for incentives like loan forgiveness to ensure more students make similar commitments.

Toward the end of the hour, questioners pressed the president on how to pay for reforms, citing estimates from the Congressional Budget Office that most proposals on the table would cost upward of $1 trillion.

Obama offered sketchy ideas at best, saying two-thirds of the bill would be footed by reallocating spending in system, including subsidies to insurers. The remaining one-third would come from “new revenue,” aka, taxes. It’s noteworthy that without prompting, Obama cited taxing health benefits as a potential way to fund health care reform.

In other reform news, I’m thinking of coining a new saying: Opinions are like health care reform proposals – everybody has one. Among the main opiners, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said yesterday that the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will extend the markups of its bill through July.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 25, 2009

In a recent survey conducted by the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, 74% of employers said they are not dropping mental health benefits because of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

The Virginia-based group found that 77% of employers will not eliminate their substance abuse coverage as a result of the new law, which takes effect January 2010. The survey, titled “Employer Survey Results: Mental Health Parity Law,” reflects the responses of 143 HR, benefits and employee assistance professionals from large and small employers.
“The business case for quality mental health care is there. Employers see the facts in the medical journals, in the business literature, and directly in their own workplaces,” says William L. Bruning, co-chair of the partnership’s Advisory Council and president and CEO of the Mid-America Coalition on Health Care in Kansas City.

Other key findings:

• Companies considering dropping mental health coverage were also considering dropping substance disorder coverage.
• More companies (20%) responded that they did not know whether mental health benefits would be dropped as compared to dropping substance disorders coverage (16%).

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 23, 2008

President Obama signed a presidential memorandum on June 17 that extends some federal benefits to domestic partners of government workers. The measure, however, stops short of including health and pension benefits.

“Millions of hard-working, dedicated, and patriotic public servants are employed by the federal government as part of the civilian workforce, and many of these devoted Americans have same-sex domestic partners,” Obama observes. “Leading companies in the private sector are free to provide to same-sex domestic partners the same benefits they provide to married people of the opposite sex.”

The memorandum calls for allowing the domestic partners of federal employees to be added to the long-term care insurance program and permitting employees to use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and non-biological, non-adopted children.

The White House also wants heads of executive departments and agencies to conduct a review of their benefits programs to determine what authority they have to extend such benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees.

Federal officials will have to report their findings within 90 days to the director of the Office of Personnel Management, who, in consultation with the Department of Justice, “shall recommend to me any additional measures that can be taken, consistent with existing law, to provide benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal government employees,” Obama states.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 18, 2009

The global financial crisis is redefining retirement expectations for workers in nearly 15 countries, according to a survey from HSBC Insurance, the international banking firm.

A perfect storm is confronting pensions planning, created by an aging population, falling pension fund values, a drop in state and employer contributions and an economic downturn which is forcing people to make tough financial choices,” says Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC.

The Future of Retirement survey questioned 15,000 people in 15 countries. Its findings include:

• Only 13% of respondents feel fully prepared for their retirement
• 86% do not know what income they will receive in retirement
• Only 27% feel they fully understand their long-term finances
• 14% have done no retirement planning at all
• 43% have undertaken some planning for later life, but still remain unclear about what their retirement income will look like.

Workers around the globe are paying little attention to long-term considerations, such as their retirement needs, but instead are focusing short-term financial concerns, which they better understand, finds the survey.

As a result of the economic downturn, 92% of respondents have changed some element of their finances. Only 19% will now retire as planned, while 17% are reducing retirement savings or stopping saving for retirement altogether, HSBC reports.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 18, 2009

The recession has placed employee benefits back in the limelight as employers work to trim costs while retaining talent, Bill Mullaney, president of MetLife Institutional Business told attendees at MetLife's 5th National Benefits Symposium.

The two-day forum, held in Washington, D.C., served as a venue for the company to reveal findings from its 7th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study.

Mullaney believes that the economic downturn has served as a wake-up call for both employers and employees. Workers are now dealing with less retirement savings than before, so they are looking for some solutions to address financial security, Mullaney explained. Employers, on the other hand, have to make sound benefits decisions that will allow for a greater return on investment for all stakeholders.

Cosponsored by the American Benefits Council, the conference also focused on how the economy and new public policy initiatives might reshape the employee benefits landscape.

Disconnect on loyalty, value of voluntary

Conducting the study allows MetLife to keep its hands on the pulse of employee benefits trends, said William Raczko, vice president of MetLife Institutional Business. "These days, that pulse is beating pretty rapidly due to the pace of change in the economy," he added.

Still, employers remain steadfast on preserving workplace benefits, according to the survey. Fewer than 15% of employers expect to scale back on their benefits programs.

About 40% of small employers (fewer than 500 workers) and 50% of large companies (2,500 or more employees) realize that there is a strong connection between workplace morale and the quality of employee benefits.

The research represents two survey groups interviewed in August and November 2008. The August poll involved 1,524 interviews with benefits decisionmakers at companies with a workforce of at least two workers, and 1,349 interviews with full-time workers. The November survey covered 569 employer and 627 employee interviews.

The study shows that benefits are influencing employee loyalty far more than employers realize. For example, 72% of workers indicated that retirement benefits were a key factor in influencing employee loyalty, but only 40% of employers said the same.

Building employee loyalty also may mean companies have to become better equipped in leveraging benefits related to life, dental, disability and vision insurance.

About 70% of employees reported non-health benefits play a strong role in workplace loyalty, a jump from 51% in 2007, while only 41% of employers thought the same.

Mullaney thinks the findings indicate that employees are appreciating a broader range of benefits, whether fully paid by the employer or themselves.

For example, 40% of full-time employees were highly interested in a wider array of voluntary benefits.
But the problem is that only 17% of more than 1,500 benefits decision-makers polled cited expanding voluntary benefits as one of their top strategies for 2009. MetLife analysts suggest this perception gap "highlights missed opportunities to deliver and get the most from each benefits dollar."

As such, employers may want to explore voluntary benefit offerings with an emphasis on enabling product choice, as well as conduct an employee survey to understand benefit priorities, needs and potential participation levels.

The data suggest a heightened awareness of voluntary benefits' value among employees who felt unprepared to face significant unforeseen events, such as income loss due to disability, elder care or premature death. About 44% of workers said they reviewed their life insurance needs, and 35% reviewed their long-term care needs.

According to the study, disability, guaranteed variable universal life and long-term care insurance were cited as potential solutions that would be well-received by employees because of their affordability and the convenience of paying for these products through payroll deduction.

Also, while 71% of the benefit professionals surveyed said their companies offered disability insurance, just 57% of their employees owned those policies through the workplace. One possible explanation was a lack of understanding about how the benefit addresses income replacement.

Hedging risk with TIPS

MetLife wasn't the only financial services outfit at the conference rolling out industry research on employee benefits. California-based PIMCO, an investment management firm, presented findings from its 2009 survey on the defined contribution plan marketplace.

According to Stacy Schaus, DC practice leader at PIMCO, more DC plan sponsors plan to diversify their portfolios with Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). Some economists believe that that recession will start to lose its grip by mid-2010, yet on heels of that recovery, inflation will rise.

PIMCO reports that 48% of investment consultants who work with DC plan sponsors reported that their clients are adding or considering TIPS or an annuity product to their plans. TIPS are treasury notes in which the principal increases with inflation and decreases with deflation.

The research, which represents data from 32 consulting firms in the United States that work with more than 1,600 DC plan sponsors with assets totaling more than $1.6 trillion, was presented at a session on retirement income assets.

Historically, DC plan providers have argued that their portfolios could do without inflation-protection assets because the rate of return on equities outpaces the rate of inflation, Schaus explained.

While inflation may not be a concern now, the past tells us that stocks will not always keep pace with inflation.

"If you look at the inflationary period from 1962 to 1980 [primarily the 1970s], stocks were underperforming inflation," she noted.

The entire survey group agreed that TIPS provided the most inflation hedge, followed by commodities (68%) and real estate investment trusts (61%). Respondents also said that TIPS (88%), emerging-markets equity (69%) and REITs (66%) would bring the most value as added classes within DC plans.

Since the inception of 401(k) plans in 1980, "we have been in a relativity high-growth and low-inflation period, which means stocks do well—and bonds, and perhaps TIPS, not so well," Schaus noted.

"We are no longer in a high-growth environment, but we are either in a low-growth environment or heading into one."

DC plans mainly consist of 11 investments options that fall into five major asset classes: non-U.S. equity, small- to mid-cap funds, large-cap funds, intermediate bonds and stable-valve/money-market funds.
As a result, the plans offer a low level of diversification with hedging risk against market volatility, Schaus asserted. In 2007, the investment arrangement in the average DC account had about 70% of funds in equities and 30% in bonds.

"Asset allocation is not the same as risk allocation. If you drill down on the 70/30 ratio, you will see that about 94% of the risk that participants face in DC investments comes from the equity side," Schaus observed.

Even target-date funds, which take into account diversification, had trouble in 2008. According to Morningstar, target-date funds designed for people who will retire in 2010 had an equity allocation of 42% and saw losses of 22% last year.

The bottom line is that DC plans must offer "a mixture of investments to carry people through all different types of economic scenarios," Schaus said.

American optimism

Still, there's an amazing subplot to the harsh economic narrative that is unfolding in the country, said MetLife's Raczko.

He explained that, in January 2009, 72% of Americans believed that they will achieve the American dream in their lifetime, compared to 74% in January 2008.

MetLife's research also shows that 83% of Americans agree that the United States still offers the greatest opportunities in the world for people of all backgrounds to achieve success and happiness.

"After all that we have been through with this economic crisis, these numbers show the resilience of the American spirit," Raczko observed.

"Your companies and industries have overcome tremendous obstacles in the past, World Wars, health care crises, a great depression and deep recessions. And each time we have emerged stronger."

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 1, 2009

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 11, 2009

Younger employees seem to have taken more of an emotional hit during this economic crisis, compared with older workers who tend to be more resilient, report researchers from Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work.

The recession has created a much gloomier outlook when it comes to job security, productivity and employee engagement. Yet, some older workers have seen it all, and that gives them experiential resilience,” says Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the center.

Older Americans have already been resilient through harsh conditions both economically and otherwise. They see the similarities between previous tough experiences, and the current climate we are seeing now, so weathering the storm is much easier, according to the report "The Difference a Downturn Can Make."

“Younger workers just don’t have the depth of experience, which leaves them feeling less engaged in their jobs” Pitt-Catsouphes says. There is a way, however, for employers to boost dwindling morale with both younger and older workers.

Christina Matz-Costa, a research associate at the center and co-author of the study, advises employers to provide strong training and development opportunities, encourage work team inclusion, and promote a culture of workplace flexibility and supervisor supportiveness.

Other key findings from the study included:

• Those whose job security decreased or stayed the same experienced a slight increase in work overload after the onset of the economic downturn, whereas those whose job security increased experienced a slight decrease in work overload.
• While younger workers felt the effectiveness of their work team as a whole dropped as their job security declined, older workers felt the effectiveness of their team held steady even though they too reported a decreased sense of job security.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, June 11, 2009

Gen Y says parents, mentors have talked to them about sex and drugs, but not benefits

New research from insurance giant Unum reveals that Gen Yers say they've heard "the talk" about life's risks, such as drug use and sex, but that as they've entered the workforce, their benefits education is lacking.

In fact, Unum finds, more Gen Y workers have discussed car-buying with a parent or professional mentor than have discussed the role of workplace benefits in protecting financial security.

"Parents and mentors have talked to Gen Y about the risks they face growing up, but they aren't completing that process by talking about how they can protect themselves financially in young adulthood," says Mike Simonds, senior vice president for Unum. "Until this new generation of workers understands the benefits decisions they will have to make, the talking isn't done."

According to the survey, Generation Y workers (ages 18 to 30) say their parents or mentor have talked with them about:

• Saving money, 72%.
• Drugs, 61%. 
• Job hunting, 61%. 
• Sex, 60%. 
• Car shopping, 51%. 
• Choosing the workplace benefits that can help protect their health, income and financial stability, 30%.

The research also shows that this very connected generation does not get the connection between their benefits and their financial stability. Forty-three percent are unfamiliar with supplemental health coverage; 52% are unfamiliar with critical illness insurance; and 35% aren't familiar with disability insurance.

"Generation Y is entering a workplace in which benefits decisions and paying for some coverages are their responsibility," Simonds says. "These young workers need to be prepared to make the decisions that will help protect their financial security, and this research shows that the generation made up largely of their parents - and bosses - isn't preparing them."

Boomers lack benefits info, too

A separate Unum survey shows that baby boomers may be poor benefits teachers because they themselves were poorly taught.

More than three-quarters of boomers (76%) say the workplace is among their most reliable sources of information about benefits. However, when it comes to certain benefits, that information either is not being provided or not sinking in, as Unum finds:

• 44% of boomers say they are unfamiliar with critical illness insurance.
• 27% are unfamiliar with long-term care coverage.

"As home values slip and the stock market fluctuates, it has never been more important to educate workers about their options for coverage that can help protect their financial stability," says Simonds. "The workplace is common ground for employees of every generation, and clear benefits communication at work is particularly critical during this fall enrollment season.

"These benefits can help protect the financial stability of a workforce that is unlikely to have sufficient savings to fall back on if they are ill or injured," he continues. "But employees who do not understand these benefits - who do not know what they are or what purpose they serve - cannot use them effectively."

Both Gen Y and boomers ranked their income from work among their most important assets to protect (Gen Y, 34%; boomers, 31%).

"This research makes it clear that employees are counting on their workplace for the information they need to make these decisions," Simonds says. "Partnering with employers is a critical way benefits providers can help meet that need."

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, March 1, 2009

As business operations costs have continued to skyrocket — particularly health benefits for active and retired employees — employers have done a steady march away from providing retiree medical benefits, a departure followed in a recent study by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists and Towers Perrin.

Employers currently are examining alternative plan designs and cost-sharing methods to offset climbing expenses, the groups find, and some have walked away from retiree medical coverage completely.

Nearly 90% of respondents cite the current economic climate as a crucial driver of change. In addition, employers may find little assistance from legislation favored by the Obama administration — including a 2010 budget proposal that would change how Medicare Advantage is subsidized by the federal government, thus increasing premiums — whose ramifications are already leaving some employers considering the elimination of retiree health coverage altogether.

I think that what we’re going to see is the reverse of the intended result of expanded coverage, at least for the post-65 retirees,” forecasts Carl Mowery, managing director of Pennsylvania-based SMART Business Advisory and Consulting. “I think there may be diminished employer coverage for health care as a way to supplement Medicare.”

Despite over 70% of employers still offering retiree medical to their current retirees and some portion of their current active population, employers have begun to phase out the benefit, with only 39% offering retiree medical to new hires.

Currently, about two-thirds of plan sponsors are subsidizing between 40% and 80% of plan costs for pre-65 retiree coverage. However this may change as more companies are turning to cost caps to delimit their financial support; 48% have a cost cap on pre-65 retiree medical coverage, up five percentage points from last year.

A considerable amount of employers polled, 42%, have either changed or plan to change the cost-sharing “deal” between company and retiree. Thirty-four percent have implemented or plan to introduce a health savings account alongside a high-deductible health plan to promote tax-free retiree medical savings. Only 7% of respondents have terminated financial support for pre-65 coverage in the past two years.

The financial pressures exerted on employers by post-65 retirees are no different than those by their younger counterparts as 60% of employers who have capped their subsidy report plan costs in excess of the cap. Approximately 40% have or will reshape cost-sharing terms with post-65 retirees and almost 20% have or plan to drop post-65 financial support in total.

Of those employers not dropping their coverage completely, 62% signed up for a Retiree Drug Subsidy program in 2006 or 2007. A less popular choice, but a growing one, was Private Fee-for-Service plans, with 5% offering a PFFS plan in 2007 or 2008, and an additional 16% considering this option for the future. Fifteen percent offered Medicare Advantage HMOs and PPOs in 2007 and 2008, with 19% planning to in the future.

Source: Employeebenefitnews.com, May 1, 2009

Many exercisers try to do all they can to take their mind off of their workouts. Some listen to music, watch TV, read or think about their to-do lists – anything to distract from the training.

In my view though, it’s better to really get your head into your workout. Don’t try to solve the problems of the world or your job during your exercise session. Leave these worries at the door. This is your time to focus on YOU.

I don’t want to get too "Guru Greg" on you, but here’s what I recommend:

• Check in with yourself during warm-up. How is your body feeling? Any aches or injuries? How’s your energy? What’s today’s workout going to be?

Especially be aware of the current track playing in your head. Many of us will discover that it consistently plays the same messages, at high volume, in repeat mode. But your exercise session can be a great time for you to really put a positive inner dialogue to work. You’d be amazed at how energy, if redirected from your mind, will benefit your body.

Check-in time is the opportunity to drop a negative old track and change the channel. One way to help do this is to get in touch with your breathing. For example, if you’re walking on the treadmill or starting a hike, sync your breath with your stride. Try to drop your thoughts and focus on simply breathing and moving.

Now that you’re connected mentally and physically, you are warmed up on both levels, so it’s time to really get moving.

• Keep that positive perspective during your workout. Stay upbeat and focused. The more in touch with your body you are, the more efficient your workout becomes and the better results you’ll get.

If a stressful thought enters your mind, usher it out the back door. Return to the positive perspective, being present with yourself. Feel your workout.

• Take stock at cool-down. Following your exercise session, save a few minutes for a cool-down, and let it be the perfect opportunity to check back in: How did you do today? What did your track sound like? Was it cluttered or clear? Did the old track force itself back into your head? If so, what did you do with it?

Also check in regarding your exercise output: Did you push yourself to the levels you intended? This is a good time to simply observe without judgment and decide what you might do differently next time.

And then finally, for the rest of the day and beyond, try to keep that track in your head as empowering as it can be!

Source: http://fitlist.msnbc.msn.com

Versatile and delicious, this grill-top recipe created by food writer Judith Fertig is about as easy as they come. Almost as satisfying as the taste is the fact that the dish requires no cleanup.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

8 red or russet potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
8 green onions, chopped with some of the green, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Prepare the grill for cooking. Place two 18-inch-long pieces of heavy-duty foil on a flat surface. Divide the potatoes, green onions, and garlic between the two pieces of foil, keeping the mixture in the center of each sheet. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and season them to your liking. Gently toss the ingredients on the foil, then fold and crimp the foil along the sides to make a flat packet (make each packet a uniform thickness for even cooking).

2. Grill the packets for 15 minutes, then turn them over and grill them for 10 minutes more. The potatoes can be served directly from the foil packets, sprinkled with additional green onion. Serves 8.

Source: http://jas.familyfun.go.com