In our newsletters, we have discussed the recent enhancements to Health Savings Accounts (HSA) as further reasons why employers should re-visit this approach. Admittedly, the establishment and implementation can appear daunting to many employers, but here at Stratford we assure you that if the financial aspect makes sense, it presents a wonderful opportunity to engage, communicate and educate your workforce on HSA's, as well as your entire benefits package. Why? Because based on several recent studies, there are very compelling business reasons for an employer to offer a wide array of benefits (both employer paid and totally voluntary), present them in multiple mediums and on a regular basis.

For many employers, healthcare costs are the number one concern. Additionally, many employers have reported that that expense is an impediment to hiring employees and growing their businesses. Hence the paradox that afflicts many employers today; offer benefits to attract and retain quality employees, but the cost of those benefits may be prohibitive to profitably running the business.

With the significant premium reduction available with HSAs, savings can be redirected to the bottom-line as well as invested in your employees (in the form of contributions to the HSA's and additional low cost, "high value" ancillary benefits).

Where does your benefits program fit in the successful operation of your business? Where do you rank relative to your peer group? How do you know if your employees understand the value of the benefits offered and to what degree are they appreciated?
Consider your answers to these questions in light of metrics uncovered in the MetLife Benefits Benchmarking studies of 2004-2006:

• 57% of Employees Spent under 30 minutes Making Benefits Decisions at Open Enrollment
  
• Over 50% of Employers Rank 'Retaining Employees' as the Most Important Benefits Objective, but just 15% consider 'Helping Employees Make Better Benefits Decisions' as Most Important.
  
• Only 30% of All Surveyed Employees strongly agreed that 'My Company's Benefits Communication Effectively Educate Me' (drops to 16% for groups with 2 to 49 lives)
  
• 39% of All Surveyed Employees strongly agreed that they were 'Satisfied with the Benefits I Receive Through My Employer' (drops to 29% for groups with 2 to 49 lives)
  

Yes, I am indeed suggesting a strong correlation between time spent by the employer (and their broker) communicating its benefits package and the level of employee satisfaction and appreciation. There are a multitude of methods you can use to get significantly more value (i.e. more for less) from your benefits program, and we'll explore that further in other articles. If you need to know now, call us!