United Benefit Advisors Insight and Analysis Blog

On August 3, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Labor (collectively, the Departments) published a final rule that amends the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance. HHS also released a fact sheet on the final rule.

No matter what your office looks like—in a gig economy or a more traditional one, with or without AI—interviews will be a part of the culture. Learning about best practices benefits everyone, whether you are the interviewer or the interviewee. Especially at busy times, it can be easy to forget that an interview isn’t simply to learn about potential coworkers. In fact, a solid interview often uncovers and develops potential growth strategies for future-looking companies.

 The phrase: “If I’m lying, I’m dying” should be changed to: “If I’m sitting, I’m dying” even though it doesn’t rhyme. If you haven’t heard by now, sitting for long periods of time increases the chance that you’ll die early, regardless of your race, gender, age, body mass index (BMI), or even if you exercise. The longer you sit, the higher your risk of dying sooner rather than later.

As the gig economy increases its influence, offices become more decentralized. Sometimes, whether to save money or finesse consistency, companies turn to artificial intelligence, or AI, for assistance. While robots have been employed to operate machinery or sort objects for years now, they are increasingly working white-collar jobs too.

CHICAGO — (Aug. 29, 2018) — To help HR professionals and business owners better understand their benefit plan claim costs, United Benefit Advisors (UBA), in conjunction with Symetra Life Insurance Company, will host a webinar — “What’s Driving Claim Costs and Employer Solutions” — on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET. To receive complimentary access to the webinar, enter code SYMUBA2018 at registration.

Understandably, some employers (and employees) have mixed feelings about the gig economy. While many enjoy the freedom gained and overhead saved, others miss office camaraderie and routine. No matter your position, research shows that the trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. By 2021, 9.2 million Americans will work on-demand jobs, and so employers need to start asking themselves how they plan to keep employees of all stripes engaged in office work and culture.

On August 1, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Labor (collectively, the Departments) released a final rule that amends the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance. HHS also released a fact sheet on the final rule.

Today, balancing career and family is no longer a women-only issue. Employed parents of all genders say their primary concern is not having enough time for their children.While every family is different, employers can still take an active role in supporting working parents (sometimes, their teenagers too).

Since the ACA was enacted eight years ago, many employers are re-examining employee benefits in an effort to manage costs, navigate changing regulations, and expand their plan options. Self-funded plans are one way that's happening.

In 2017, the UBA Health Plan survey revealed that self-funded plans have increased by 12.8% in the past year overall, and just less than two-thirds of all large employers’ plans are self-funded.

Here are six of the reasons why employers are opting for self-funded plans:

Millennials, commonly but not exclusively defined as people born between 1981 and 1996, occupy a complicated space in today’s workplace—predominantly because they’re the youngest generation in it. While many consider this group “ambitious” and “tech-savvy,” others understand it to be “whiney,” “distracted,” or “entitled.” As with any stereotype, this is a flat, un-nuanced version of a partial truth. The most important thing to remember, says Brad Karsh, CEO and founder of JBTraining Solutions, is that each generation in the workforce—from Boomers to Millennials—has been shaped by their upbringing.