Things you should know
2011 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey trends
Key findings from the research report, 2011 Employee Benefits, by the Society for Human Resource Management include:
There has been a slight increase in the percentage of respondents reporting their benefits offerings have been negatively affected by the economy.
Organizations spent on average 19% of an employee's annual salary on mandatory benefits, 19% on voluntary benefits and 11% on pay for time not worked benefits.
Health savings accounts (HSA) are becoming more and more prevalent, while HMO plans continue to decline in popularity.
There was a slight increase in the percentage of companies offering health care premium discounts for employees who had an annual health risk assessment, participated in a weight loss program, took part in a wellness program and/or had not used tobacco products.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans continue to shift away from defined benefit pension plans toward defined contribution retirement savings plans and Roth 401(k) savings plans.
Financial and compensation benefits have experienced considerable declines throughout the last five years. The most significant decreases were in educational assistance programs, incentive bonus plans for executives, life insurance for dependents and undergraduate educational assistance.
Paid-time-off plans continue to gain in popularity, while the prevalence of paid vacation plans remains stagnant.
While adoption assistance, elder care referral service and foster care assistance have experienced significant declines over the last five years, family-friendly benefits have remained relatively stable throughout recent years.
After gradual declines over the last five years, a number of flexible working benefits have experienced positive gains since 2010.
Over the last five years, there were several decreases in the number of organizations offering employee services benefits. The following benefits experienced sharp declines: executive club memberships, legal assistance/services, mentoring programs, organization-sponsored sports teams, professional development opportunities and travel planning services.
Housing and relocation benefits have experienced significant declines over the last five years.
Some exercise better than none in preventing heart disease
Even small amounts of physical exercise can help reduce the risk of heart disease, indicates a study released Aug. 1 by the American Heart Association.
Although government guidelines call for 2.5 hours of physical activity per week, the study found that exercisers who did not meet the recommended guidelines had a lower risk of coronary heart disease than those who did not exercise at all. The benefits of exercise were stronger among women than men.
The study, which was the first to quantify the value of exercise on heart disease, also found that people who engaged in the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly had a 14% lower risk of coronary heart disease than those who reported no exercise.
The study was published online in the journal Circulation.