Employers renew commitment to health benefits despite cost increases—One of 3 things you need to know this week in employee benefits

Employers double down on benefits as major part of employee value proposition

New survey results from Towers Watson show that employers are steadfast in their commitment to provide health benefits, despite looming cost increases driven by health care reform and the overall health care market.

A wide majority (87%) of companies report that health benefits will be a central part of their employee value proposition in 2015, and a full 91% remain just as committed to health coverage for part-time workers as for full-time employees, Towers Watson finds. This despite the fact that health benefit costs are projected to rise more than 5% without plan changes, according to the firm.

While laudable, it remains to be seen how employers will fulfill that commitment without major changes to plan design. Towers Watson also concludes that 54% of employers will trigger the “Cadillac tax,” a levy under the Affordable Care Act on rich employer plans, effective in 2018.

Less than half of employers say they plan to move toward a high-deductible health plan as the only benefit option (49%) by 2017. For now, companies are planning to use a variety of cost-control methods in lieu of major plan design changes. Among them:

• Leveraging technology, like mobile fitness apps or wearable tech, to encourage improved wellness outcomes (76%).
• Using eligibility and/or utilization restrictions on specialty pharmacy (66%).
• Excluding spouses from coverage eligibility, or implementing spousal surcharges (63%).
• Implementing telemedicine (37%).

Retirement assets grow to $24 trillion

There’s positive news this week regarding Americans’ financial security from the Investment Company Institute. ICI reports that U.S. retirement assets grew to $24 trillion during the second quarter of the year, up 2.8% from Q1.

While the growth is modest, it’s worth noting that a more than one-quarter of the assets ($6.6 trillion) are in employer-based defined contribution plans, reaffirming the role employers play in helping Americans achieve financial security in retirement.

This week’s hidden gem: The top 10 companies with benefits for working parents

As health insurance continues its forward progress toward becoming a commodity benefit, employers will have to look at other ways to distinguish themselves from competitors to lure and keep top employees. One of those ways is to position themselves as providing quality benefits to working parents and spouses. Statistics show that 91% of American dads and 63% of American moms work outside the home; these 10 companies, named by Working Mother magazine, are the best ones for those parents—based on benefits like flextime, advancement programs and paid leave.