Employee benefits in state of change
July 31, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Employment Issues, Health & Wellness
When the economy changes so do employment benefits, according to a recent survey of employers conducted by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company.
Colonial Life talked to over 750 human resource managers and benefits administrators at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference in New Orleans during July. Based on current economic hardships, employers note that various changes have been occurring with regards to employee benefits. For example…
- 26% increased contributions from employees
- 12% eliminated benefits
- 12% offered employee-paid voluntary options
- 10% added benefits
- 9% increased employer contributions
You would expect to hear ALL bad news but it’s better than I thought. Some employers have cut benefits, which sucks, but at least it looks like some are adding extra perks. On the other hand, what’s not covered by this survey is a little scary too. Around 42% of employers noted that they’re considering changing benefits, but they’re not sure how yet. Yikes.
In my opinion, if you’ve got good benefits now, take advantage of the perks now as well. You can make sure everyone in the family has current immunizations and check-ups, take care of prescriptions by buying long-term meds in bulk (if allowed) and cash in on the other benefits that companies often offer in conjunction with health care benefits. If you’ve been cut out of health benefits you may qualify for free or low-cost benefits as well. To learn about your options read:
Low-cost medical care – prescription assistance program
Stay healthy in the first place
Have your health care benefits changed lately?
[image via stock.xchng]
