More Firms Shorten 401(k) Eligibility Period
To help workers get a head start on retirement savings, more firms are embracing an earlier eligibility for 401(k) enrollment. The standard three-month waiting period for eligibility is slowly fading away, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA).
About 69% of 401(k) plans allowed employees to make elective deferrals to their plan within three months of their hiring date in 2006, up from 65% in 2005, PSCA reports. Among large employers with 1,000 or more workers, nearly 85% offer eligibility within the first three months, up from 79% in 2005.
In addition, eligibility periods rose slightly for company contributions, with 49% of plans offering a company match within the first three months of employment in 2006.
“Shorter eligibility periods are good news for workers,” says PSCA President David Wray. “Not only do they have a greater opportunity to save for retirement with fewer gaps in coverage, [but also] they are able to begin contributing without feeling the pinch that sometimes affects workers who enroll later on. At the same time, there is no single right approach for everyone, which is demonstrated by the continuing range of response.”
Article provided by Benefit News 1-30-07.
Diet, Exercise Take Off Equal Pounds, Study Finds
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eating less and exercising more are equally good at helping take off the pounds, U.S. researchers said on Friday in a study that challenges many of the popular tenets of the multibillion dollar diet and fitness industry.
Tests on overweight people show that a calorie is just a calorie, whether lost by dieting or by running, they said.
They found there is no way to selectively lose belly fat, for instance, or trim thighs. And their carefully controlled study added to evidence that adding muscle mass does not somehow boost metabolism and help dieters take off even more weight.
"It's all about the calories," said Dr. Eric Ravussin of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, part of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
"So long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat weight, and abdominal fat will all decrease in the same way."
To read article in its entirety click on
Diet.
Exercise Your Aches Away
Your back is killing you. Your neck and shoulders are tense from a stressful day at work. All you want to do is go home and relax on the couch. But there are other healthy ways to unwind. Often, everyday aches and pains can be whisked away with moderate exercise.
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exercise.
One-Third Of Large Employers Will Move To Consumer-Driven Health Plans In 2007, Cash Balance Plans Will Increase, Wyatt Predicts
Targeting specific types of health care users and focusing more on health care data will be two of the characteristics of consumer-driven health plans in 2007, according to recent trends identified by Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
Employees will continue to assume more responsibility for choosing and financing their health care benefits in 2007 as companies address new regulations and focus on controlling costs, according to Watson Wyatt, which also foresees the following developments for 2007:
Increased focus on high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) coupled with a reimbursement arrangement (for example, health savings accounts).
More benefits information and tools online.
Moving beyond mandatory generic prescription drug plans.
Greater integration between health care and absence management programs.
More on-site clinics in the workplace.
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Consumer Driven Health Plans.
Company Clinics Cut Health Costs
Frustrated by runaway health costs, the nation’s largest employers are moving rapidly to open more primary care medical centers in their offices and factories as a way to offer convenient service and free or low-cost health care.
Within the last two years, companies including Toyota, Sprint Nextel, Florida Power and Light, Credit Suisse and Pepsi Bottling Group have opened or expanded on-site clinics. And many employers are adding or planning to add even more clinics, which were experimented with about 30 years ago but fell out of favor amid questions about their cost-effectiveness.
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Company Clinics.
Consumer-Driven Health Plans Top 2006 See Changes
Ted keeps himself in reasonably good shape with a semi-regular exercise regimen. Although he's hardly a paragon of fitness, he's certainly not a sedentary, high-risk employee guzzling soda all day.
This is a big year for Ted, who recently turned 40. He's taking stock of his life and realizes that things are changing. He's getting sick more often, his weight has crept up by 15 pounds, his hair is receding and he sometimes needs glasses when reading.
Ted has vowed to take better care of himself. And thanks to the consumer-driven health plan his employer offers, he's doing just that.
To read more click on
Consumer-Driven Health Care.
Get to Your Fitness Goals
What's your fitness goal? Running a marathon? Lifting more weight than you did last week? Power walking around the block without feeling winded? Whether your athletic aspirations are lofty or not, finding the energy to get-up-and-go when the going gets tough can be a challenge.
When it comes to helping individuals reach amazing fitness goals, Chris Carmichael knows a thing or two about motivation. Carmichael, an author as well as founder and chairman of Carmichael Training Systems, coached cyclist Lance Armstrong on the road to many a Tour de France win.
Click Here for some of his tips to ensure success on your fitness path.
Listen Up, Smokers: Cutting Back Isn't Good Enough
If smoking 40 cigarettes a day is bad, you might think that smoking 20 would be half as bad. But reducing tobacco use doesn't reduce cancer risk by the same amount, and researchers have provided a clue as to why: Smokers who cut back compensate for the drop in nicotine by inhaling more smoke from each cigarette.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota looked at two groups of people: 64 heavy smokers who were cutting back their use, and 62 light smokers. Both groups smoked the same number of cigarettes, and their urine was tested for NNAL, a chemical that indicates a person's exposure to the toxins in tobacco. The average level of NNAL in the heavy smokers who had cut back was more than twice that of the consistently light smokers. The findings were published in the December edition of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.
Article can be read in its entirety by clicking on
Smoking.
Eat At Home For Your Own Good
It's been a rough year for trans fats. First came the scarlet letter from the FDA requiring that the artificial, artery-clogging substances be clearly identified on nutrition labels. Then New York City and Chicago proposed citywide restrictions (New York's passed in December). And as lawsuits pile up, some of trans fats' best friends-including chains like KFC and snack makers like Kellogg-have been scrambling to dump the stuff from their recipes.
Trans fats are clearly on their way out. Indeed, expert Walter Willett of Harvard University predicts they'll be nearly gone in five years. But there's a catch: The FDA labeling rule applies only to food sold in stores; it does not apply to restaurants, bakeries, and deli counters. So it's more than likely that you're still eating trans fats when you eat out. And eating out you are. In 1970, Americans spent just 26 percent of their total food budget eating away from home; in 2002, the number was 46 percent.
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Trans Fat.
Spotlight On Benefit Trends For 2007
Expect to see high-deductible health plans and health saving accounts to top the priority list of more employers in the new year, analysts at Watson Wyatt, a HR consulting firm, say.
Nearly one-third of large employers intend to offer an HDHP with a reimbursement account in 2007. Yet few companies plan to replace their current health plans with a HDHP. Meanwhile, experts predict the Internet will play an increasing role in helping patients make tough decisions about health care providers and spending.
Information provided by BenefitNews.com 1-4-07.
Stop Type 2 Diabetes Before You Get It
The evidence is clear: People with a condition known as prediabetes can delay or even prevent the onset of full Type 2 diabetes with moderate exercise and weight loss. But most of the 54 million Americans who have the condition don't even know it.
The good news is you can get screened for prediabetes. And you should-especially if you're overweight, have a family history of diabetes, or are American Indian, African-American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian-American, or Pacific Islander.
To read more on Type 2 Diabetes click on
U.S. News and World Report.
