S&S Benefits.....Opinion,
Hearsay & News Review
Other than the fact that one more politician has claimed
to have found a way to insure all citizens in a state (
Illinois
), there is not a lot of news for the March newsletter. Let’s enjoy!
Governor “Blago” has added his name to the list of
politicians who think they can solve the problem of the uninsured. However, with
the state employees own health plan forever costing more than budgeted and with
the state’s plan for the uninsured being terminally under-funded, we wonder
how much more of our future Blagojevich will mortgage, or if will he continue to
try to tax business out of existence in the state in order to fund his ideas?
Will the legislature go along for the ride? Perhaps it’s time we set up some
betting pools on both Blago and Aaaarnold to see who gets their program
implemented first and another pool for who bankrupts their state first. Will
Vegas bite on this idea or do we need to go offshore?
A MetLife study shows that 55% of employers rank employee
retention as their top benefits goal. This was especially true in the retail
(62%) and services (59%) industries. In surveying employees of the same
companies, Met found that among those who are highly satisfied with their
benefits, 80% express strong job satisfaction.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce surveys approximately 400
companies per year. In their study, medical expenses cost employers $5,924 PEPY,
or 14.5% of payroll. Paid time off constituted 11.1% of payroll expenditures.
Non-profits spent an average of 34.8% of total payroll on benefits according to
the Chamber.
Daylight savings time begins early- March 11th.
Spring rolls in March 21st. Happy Spring!
