Editor’s Note

Many employees on the verge of retirement with poorly funded 401(k)s wish they had a traditional pension plan. However, few workers still have access to a retirement plan that will provide guaranteed payments for the rest of their lives. Yet,majority of them find it hard or impossible to save, largely for reasons beyond their control.

Confronting The Looming Retirement Crisis In America: Are American workers ready for it?

As the population ages, millions of people are discovering shortfalls in their retirement strategies. The standard of living they planned for is becoming increasingly difficult to reach and harder to maintain. Experts believe this problem will only grow over time. Studies show the current workforce is ill-prepared for retirement dates that are still 20 to 30 years away. For these workers, access to reliable retirement funds is worse than it was in the 1980s, underlining the critical situation that has developed for retirees over the past 40 years.

Employee Benefits and Wellness Excellence January 2016 Advertisers

Paying Off Student Loans: What happens when employers help employees?

Do you celebrate your employees’ birthdays? How about their work anniversaries or promotions? Do you get the team together when they close a big deal or deliver a major release? Of course you do.

Health Care Trends 2016: What to expect?

As we have stepped in to a brand New Year, human resources professionals are looking forward to the health care trends expected in 2016. This year, the role of HR professionals will continue to evolve, helping companies succeed and keeping employees satisfied. Similar to this past year, companies can expect to see employee demand for customized benefits options, a growth in consumer-directed health plans, and a rise in private insurance exchanges.

Office Lighting And Employee Wellness: Health and productivity benefits of natural office lighting

As new office buildings are built every month, more and more individuals are spending hours in workspaces with little or no exposure to natural sunlight. It should come as no surprise that our bodies react in negative ways to such conditions and, in return, influence how well we function in a professional environment. Although our bodies have adapted to artificial lighting over the years, being in a naturally lit environment triggers responses within our endocrine system that are needed to manage sleep, moods and our immune system. By replacing artificial light with natural light, employees will experience many positive results including improved mental clarity, better vision and a decrease in headaches and migraines.

Top Five Countries For Work-Life Balance: Check out the secret to their success

Balancing work, family, leisure activities, and personal commitments is a constant challenge for many of us. In my house, we all either work or go to school and evenings and weekends are filled to the brim with a myriad of sports including Gaelic football, rugby, hurling, soccer, running, swimming and Pilates to name a few. This means constantly running from work to the next activity and hoping to grab a bite somewhere in between. Being able to successfully do everything so that every member of our little family (there’s only four of us!) gets their activity is a constant challenge. That said, we are some of the lucky ones as I work for a company that values work life balance and the benefits it brings to their employees so all Softworks employees have flexible working/flexitime.

Implementing 401(k): 5 "must evaluate" items to consider

A 401(k) plan can be one of the most important employee benefits a company offers to its employees. Consistently rated as one of the top employee benefits requested by employees, the 401(k) doubles as the largest financial asset for an employee other than their house. Here are five must-evaluate items to consider when offering employees the best 401(k) benefit plan:

Weight Management: Be clear on your what, why and how

The weight of individual employees is a subject that has captured the attention of probably every worksite wellness program practitioner today. And, addressing employee weight has probably become a core element in most employee wellness programs today as well. Given the importance of, and attention this issue is receiving, it is very important that we, as worksite wellness program practitioners, are clear on the what, why and how of the weight management interventions in our programs.

Choosing A Health Care Plan For Employees: What you need to know

As you know, health plans can be complicated, and choosing the right one for your employees can cause many a sleepless night for HR professionals. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to evolve, so it’s important to stay updated on those issues that may impact the health plan benefits you offer your employees.