7 auto-enrollment myths—One of 3 things you need to know this week in employee benefits

Don’t believe the hype: 7 misconceptions about auto-enrollment

Statistics show that auto-enrolling employees into retirement plans boosts participation rates to around 85%. However, auto-enrollment isn’t without its criticisms—particularly, that it increases both plan expenses and participant inertia.

In response, a new blog post from Pension Consultants Inc. strikes down seven common misconceptions about retirement auto features.

Considering auto-enrollment, but worried employees will resent losing control over their paychecks, and won’t be any better off financially? Don’t fret, PCI concludes, citing Harris Interactive poll results showing that employees are almost universal (98%) in their approval of auto-enrollment. Additionally, 85% of workers said automatic enrollment helped them start saving earlier than they would have otherwise.

Younger HIX enrollees sicker than anticipated

Although state exchanges and the Obama administration spared no advertising expense to attract young and (supposedly) healthy enrollees, new data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina reveal that members of the state’s exchange are older than expected—plus, younger members are sicker than average.

Among BCBSNC’s 232,000 new members who enrolled via the state’s exchange, 69% are older than 34, and 25% are aged 18–34. That slice of younger enrollees is smaller than the 28% BCBSNC hoped for. Plus, self-reported info from health risk assessments shows young members “are less healthy and seeking more medical treatment than we typically see in this age group,” according to a report in Healthcare Payer News.

Young BCBSNC members have higher-than-average rates of chronic conditions like diabetes, depression and asthma, the report reads.

This week’s hidden gem: With flextime, managers prefer early birds

Researchers conclude that the early bird gets the worm—but also the boss’s approval. As flextime gains greater acceptance among employers, details from a new research paper reported in the Harvard Business Review blog show that employees who started work earlier in the day were rated by supervisors as more conscientious, and received higher performance ratings.

Specifically, employees who worked 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. were rated higher than those who worked 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

HBR notes several tips for employers to help managers identify and overcome “morning bias” so that employee performance reviews fairly assess work outcomes, not work hours—including more targeted manager awareness training, and greater diligence and rigor in performance reviews.

Bonus: First Benefits Communication Master Class slides are online

In case you missed Part 1 of our Benefits Communication Master Class, Creating results: Three steps to success with your benefits communication, you can now download the session slides and watch the webinar recording on our website. In the next session on May 29, Jen will share tips for the web in Likes, tweets and clicks: The do’s and don’ts of online benefits communication. Register today!