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5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years
The premier resource in the field of Form 5500 preparation, 5500 Preparer's Manual will help you handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.
From Spencer's Benefits Reports: Employers are using their benefits enrollment systems to encourage employees to adopt healthier behaviors, a new survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide has found.
The survey of 117 U.S. companies conducted in December 2007, at the end of the annual enrollment process, found that more than half (53%) have incorporated health risk assessments into their enrollment systems or will incorporate these programs by 2009 (see chart below). More than one-third (36%) use enrollment systems to encourage employees to sign up for disease management programs or will do so by 2009.
“Including behavior-change information and decision-support tools directly in the enrollment process can make a big difference in the number of people who sign up for wellness programs and take them seriously,” said Jeri Stepman, Watson Wyatt’s national leader for health and welfare administration. “Sending out information on healthy behaviors and asking employees to take the initiative is not nearly as effective.”
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Employers Consider Integrating a Variety of Programs Into Enrollment Systems |
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| Program or activity | Incorporated in enrollment process now or planned for 2009 | Considering for future |
| Health risk assessment | 53% | 32% |
| Disease management | 36% | 32% |
| Addressing tobacco use | 29% | 30% |
| Participation in onsite health screenings | 26% | 32% |
| Surcharge if spouse has access to other coverage | 20% | 21% |
| Exercise frequency or fitness center use | 16% | 32% |
| Weight or body mass index management | 14% | 36% |
Despite these efforts, most employers have yet to make much progress in integrating their enrollment systems with other benefits-related resources, such as linking directly to an external health care plan provider or health savings account/flexible spending account administrator. Although 67% have integrated their enrollment system with their human resource portal or intranet, only 27% have integrated it with their health care provider’s system, which often contains detailed information on disease management and healthy lifestyles. One out of three (30%) has not integrated their enrollment system with any other system.
A key aspect of engaging employees in their benefits—health care cost modeling—is the subject of some concern among employers. A significant proportion of all respondents—more than 20%—are dissatisfied with their organization’s decision-support and plan-modeling tools. More than half of all respondents are either neutral or dissatisfied with the information provided to employees on managing health and health-related incentives.
For more information about the report, Navigating Enrollment: Leveraging Technology to Engage Employees, visit http://www.watsonwyatt.com/navigatingenrollment.
For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.
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