New NLRB Posting Rule in Effect Soon
Think your posting area for legally required employee notifications is crowded? Well, it’s about to get a little more so.
Tag: benefits
Transit Benefit Drops by Nearly Half for 2012, While Parking Tax Break Rises
Administering qualified transportation fringe benefits (QTFBs) will be more complicated in 2012. Congress has allowed the parity between mass transit and parking thresholds — which gave transit and vanpool users the same tax advantage as drivers — to expire. Starting Jan. 1, 2012, the excludible amount for those who purchase bus, rail and other mass […]
‘I Can’t Live on What You’re Paying Me’ Conversations
Today’s tips are again from a recent BLR webinar featuring Teresa Murphy and David Wudyka. Murphy is the principal consultant for HR Partner Advantage, an HR advisory firm based in Raleigh, N.C. Wudyka, SPHR, MBA, BSIE, is the founder and managing principal of Westminster Associates, a Massachusetts-based human resource and compensation firm. Complaint: “I can’t […]
IRS Ups Deductions for 401(k) and IRA Plans
Starting 2012, savers can sock away $17,000 per year in a 401(k) retirement plan without paying upfront taxes, up from $16,500 in 2010. This increase applies to all 401(k) and 403(b) plans, most 457 plans and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan. The last time the IRS raised this elective deferral (contribution) limit was in […]
Are Forces of Secrecy Blocking Path to Health Cost Control?
Health reform has passed and it was supposed to change the world. But it has yet to take effective action on the biggest problem — the upward spiral of health costs! Raise your hand if you think there is a connection between insurers’ and providers’ lack of transparency on premiums and fees, and that upward […]
Premium Subsidy Extension Becomes Law
Trade legislation that also extends premium subsidies for health coverage under the Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC) program was signed into law by President Obama Oct. 21. The HCTC was enacted as part of the Trade Act of 2002. As originally enacted, it provided a 65-percent tax credit for qualifying health coverage (including COBRA continuation […]
Social Security Taxable Wage Base Increases for First Time Since 2009
For the first time since 2009, the Social Security taxable wage base has increased: For 2012, it will be $110,100, up from $106,800. The Social Security Administration attributes this to the increase in average wages. In 2012, employers must withhold Social Security taxes on each employee’s first $110,100 of compensation. This means that the employer […]
Twelve for ’12: A Dozen Ideas for Flexible Benefits
The year 2011 will soon be in the history books so it is not too early to work on the master “to do” list for 2012. Here are a dozen suggestions for benefits and insurance professionals who are involved with flexible benefits, by Rich Glass, JD, Chief Compliance Officer, Infinisource, Inc. Keep an eye on […]
No Travel Reimbursement for Feds Who Stay at Lodging They Own
Federal employees who stay at lodgings they own while on job-related travel should not even try to obtain a reimbursement for their lodging expenses. So says the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that sets the rules for reimbursement of federal employees’ employment-related travel expenses. The GSA issued a final rule on Oct. 14 […]
Gallup Data on Obese Workers: Time to Dust Off ‘Lighter’ Workplace Tips
Most U.S. workers are either obese or suffering from at least one chronic condition, which costs employers $153 billion in lost productivity, says a new Gallup-Healthways survey. That’s the bad news. The good news is employers can take steps to lighten their workforce, and I’ll provide a refresher on some of those steps later below. […]