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Employers are reducing retiree health benefit coverage because of rising medical care costs, altered postemployment benefit accounting rules and increasing numbers of retirees. A survey by A. Foster Higgins and Company Inc. of 1,185 employers found 59% surveyed believe in a employer-retiree shared responsibility system. Of employers surveyed, 32% want to enlarge retiree contributions. Other proposals include enlarging deductibles, modifying benefit plans' coordination with Medicare and fixed-dollar amount plans. Also at issue is Financial Accounting Standard 106 which, starting in 1993, demands that retiree health benefit liabilities accumulate as 'expense against earnings' from date of hire.

Byline: MICHAEL PRINCE NEW YORK-More employers should dip their toes in the water and get into the pool of companies adopting consumer-driven health care plans, a trio of benefit managers [...]

Q: How can good governance reduce the level of risk in my company's benefit plans? A: This question comes from the vp-human resources at a Fortune 500 company. The company [...]

Better communication with providers and setting goals other than lower costs may help employers get more value from their health care benefits, a new survey suggests. Providers and employers have [...]

Employers that have domestic violence prevention initiatives are practicing smart risk management, domestic violence experts say. Consultants and outreach organizations note that domestic violence often can spill into the workplace, [...]

The Conference Board found in a study of 183 US corporations that 74% use strategic long-range employee benefit planning. Of that 74%, 45% found this method of benefit planning extremely useful, 38.3% found it useful, 9% found it incomparable and 6.8% found it moderately useful. The majority of the companies cited cost control as the major objective for strategic benefits planning.