In the U.S., benefits practitioners are busy implementing strategies to avoid the Cadillac tax — a 40% tax on health plan premiums exceeding USD 10,200 for single coverage and  USD 27,500 for family coverage; the tax is to be effective in 2018. They are making plan design changes such as increasing cost-sharing, reducing subsidies and eliminating plans with extensive coverage. They are also stepping up wellness activities, increasing consumerism

The maximum pretax contribution U.S. employees can make to their 401(k) plans in 2016 will remain at USD 18,000, unchanged from 2015. Other parameters such as the maximum catch-up contribution older employees can make to a plan (USD 6,000), the amount of employee compensation that can be considered in calculating pension benefits and contributions to DC plans (USD 265,000), the definition of a highly compensated employee for nondiscrimination testing (USD

According to a June 2015 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) survey of its members, U.S. employers, of the 83% of organizations that do offer a form of education assistance or tuition reimbursement to their employees, 75% reported the program as successful despite the fact that in many organizations, less than 5% of eligible employees participate in the programs. Education assistance programs provide an employee with a fixed

AIG in the UK have announced in September 2015 the launch of their “Expatriate Care” product, aimed at UK-headquartered organizations with expatriate employees. Interestingly, AIG has partnered with Paris, France – based broker and TPA Henner. One of Henner’s division is a medical plan administrator with a network of 35,000+ medical providers in 160 countries, with discounts and direct billing arrangements. The AIG UK product includes a medical second

Most Western Europeans underestimate their personal risk of becoming unable to work, according to an August 2015 survey by Zurich covering six European countries. Respondents generally tend to overestimate accidents as a leading cause of disability. But at the same time, they are unaware that the probability of becoming work-disabled during one’s working lifetime – whether due to an accident or other causes – may be as high as

Payroll software and services provider ADP and the GoHealth Insurance platform that offers subsidized health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, have together launched a private health exchange that enables employers to assist both full-time employees and the contingent workforce, i.e. part-time, temporary and contract workers ineligible for employer-sponsored coverage, in selecting health plans. Apparently in an effort to leverage up-to-date, detailed employee data from its clients’ payrolls,

GEB launched GEB Horizon Plan, an international retirement and savings product for its small and medium-sized corporate clients.

AIG USA launched a new product, AIG Home Protection, a voluntary employee benefit that covers out-of-pocket expenses related to repairing or replacing home appliances. Available to groups with at least 2,500 employees, it covers parts and labor for repairing or replacing mechanical and electrical failures on products within the home, up to USD 5000/year. The program is an interesting example of B2B2E (business-to-business-to-employee) marketing and of leveraging P/C capabilities

French wholesale broker APRIL Group released in June 2015 a service card for employees facing hardship such as divorce,accident, death of a relative, etc. “April for Me” allows employers to support these employees through help with administrative procedures, hands-on assistance (babysitting, cleaning services, etc.), and support (social worker, psychologist, etc.) in case of a traumatic event. This is expected to drive greater employee engagement and a quicker return to

Cigna in January 2015 released Cigna Compass, a new application based on predictive algorithms to guide U.S. health plan customers in building their own personal health care team of practitioners and save money. Cigna Compass synthesizes data related to a consumer’s medical plan use, biometric data, incentive information, claims history, and coaching program involvement to improve health and lower health-care costs. It guides customers to stay in-network and choose