Recently, BLR conducted a survey of 1,261 HR professionals to find out about the retirement benefits their organizations offer employees. Most respondents (86%) say they offer either a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement savings plan to employees.
Employee contributions
While a high number of employers represented in the BLR survey offer retirement benefits, only 33% automatically enroll [...]

Employee benefits other than wages have evolved over the years as companies look for new ways to retain good employees, boost employee morale, and encourage employee loyalty. Each year, we at HRHero and BLR survey our readers to find out what benefits they offer and how their benefits plans are decided and change to fit [...]

Have you been pulling your hair out for the past several months trying to determine what health care reform means for your organization? This article will provide you with a good starting point by outlining many of the major provisions of the health care reform package (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the [...]

by Stephen Stine
We aren’t getting any younger, and neither are your employees. As a result, employers are increasingly having to confront age-related issues that may lead to legal liability. These issues arise not only in the context of hiring and firing decisions but also in the design of benefit plans. To ensure your benefit plans [...]

by Douglas R. Chamberlain
When facing financial difficulties, employees often look to their retirement plans as a possible source of needed funds. Many plans offer participant loans or permanent withdrawals, the latter generally on a hardship basis. However, plan loans and withdrawals can jeopardize the employee’s retirement benefits, and both are subject to complex rules that, [...]

As surely as the word “layoffs” have become part of nervous break room conversations in companies across the country, enterprising employers have sought out creative alternatives to the standard layoff regime of cost-cutting. Using tactics such as hiring freezes, offers of unpaid leave, shortened workweeks, and even pay cuts, employers [...]

In a major ruling, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees who retire and receive lump-sum distributions from their company’s defined-contribution plan, such as a 401(k), have the right to sue the administrators of the plan if they don’t believe their moneys were managed wisely. As our [...]

Forty years ago, very few U.S. employees were personally affected by what happened on Wall Street. Six in 10 Americans were covered by a pension that they could count on regardless of the stock market. Today less than 2 in 10 workers in the private sector have a pension and most [...]

by Gary Jiles
Q. How do I go about starting a 401(k) plan for my employees, and what are some of the general requirements?
Keep up with the latest changes in laws regarding employee benefits with the Benefits and Compensation Law Alert.

In the past year, litigation filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has exploded, and it’s quickly becoming an ever-present reality for employers. One of the most recent and fastest-growing areas of this litigation involves 401(k) fee cases. Because the lawsuits are very new and still not well publicized, [...]