While federal tax laws have many provisions of interest to employers, one you should be certain to trumpet far and wide is a special provision of key value to your older employees.

Under the provision, those nearing retirement (designated in the law as individuals age 50 and over), can make larger tax-deferred contributions to most qualified plans than can other employees. The stated goal of these more generous contribution levels is to allow these employees the opportunity to “catch up” from past years when their allowable contribution levels were far lower than today.

We can help you inform qualifying employees of this opportunity as part of an overall review of the retirement options you offer. Such reviews are advisable on a regular basis (we recommend at least annually). They allow employees to reconsider any choices they have made previously about contribution levels or plan funding choices, and they provide an excellent method for you to advise employees of tax law or other plan updates that affect their retirement benefits.

Legal Insurance Voluntary Benefit

While companies are trying to rein in expenditures through cutting employee benefits, workers are still facing the same needs in life, and some of those demands are expanding. One way employers can help is through employee-paid voluntary benefits.

Some of the greatest extra expenses workers face are legal costs. The American Bar Association reports that more than half of American workers will face a legal problem in the next year. Legal issues span a wide array of concerns, including buying a home directly from a seller, adopting a child, creating or changing a will, and debt collection.

Legal services plans often cover the employee and dependents and provide substantial cost savings when participants use an in-network attorney. When you consider the likelihood of financial problems, identity theft or the need for will and estate planning, you can see how popular legal insurance voluntary benefits can be.

A hospital system with 100 sites of care wanted a way to keep healthcare premiums and co-pays down for its employees, so it turned to its health insurer to develop a wellness plan.

For every dollar spent to incentivize employees to improve their health, the employer saved $6. The program resulted in significant clinical improvements in risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, exercise and tobacco use.

The biggest challenge was getting and keeping people engaged. Like an estimated 86% of the country’s employers, the company had offered a wellness program in the past, but it achieved only modest success through nominal rewards to employees.

The turnaround in participation occurred when the company changed its prospecting. It asked employees to complete a voluntary personal health profile that measured risk factors. Those with low risk factors were immediately awarded an annual premium reduction of at least $500. Those with two or more risk factors could earn that incentive by working with a health coach. Those who declined to participate were not eligible for discounts.

Employees with targeted chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure—as well as those who were pregnant—were eligible for additional incentives if they worked with disease managers who monitored their medication, medical checkups and other crucial health activity. Those employees earned an additional $460 per year in premium discounts.

How is your wellness approach doing? Talk with our benefit specialists today about potential partnerships available from our selection of top carriers that may make you the next featured success story!

According to one government estimate, a major part of the growth in the U.S. labor force is among workers ages 55 and older, and those who already hold jobs are less likely to be leaving.

As your workplace ages, be sure your benefits stay in step. Older workers are keenly interested in health and wellness as well as investment strategies. This is the right population to target with travel benefits, trust fund advice for those with grandchildren, long-term care and annuity options, group purchasing benefits and specialty medical benefits.

Health screenings are popular with older employees. These include free programs that are offered by local charities for hearing and vision, as well as package deals offered through your health insurer that cover heart and vascular wellness. Some companies offer group discounts for participating employees.

Whether you offer an employer-sponsored investment program or not, your employees will very likely appreciate a free seminar that gives guidelines on retirement planning. It is often possible to dovetail the seminar with the opportunity to set up an individual retirement fund if your firm doesn’t offer a plan in its benefits menu. You can also offer informational sessions on other investment options that are of particular interest to your older workers.

If you aren’t sure what would most appeal to them, call us. We have some ideas for you.

Thank you for your referrals.

Based upon the results from the Employee Benefits Research Institute’s 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), workers are skeptical that Social Security will meet their retirement needs. Just one third of workers expect Social Security checks to be a major source of income in retirement. What’s worse, many have depleted or borrowed against retirement funds during the recession.

Bottom line? Workers are confused and worried about their retirement futures. Now might be a great time to remind them of the valuable retirement benefits you currently offer. Provide your workers with information and tools to estimate their future needs, including what part Social Security may play, and show them how to maximize the potential of your offerings. Consider automating enrollment in a retirement plan with an opt-out function to maximize participation. Call us. We can help you get started.