BAN Blog

Industry Predictions for the New Year

By Perry Braun - February 4, 2019

Written by Perry Braun, Benefit Advisors Network, and Lisa Allen, Relph Benefits, for America’s Benefit Specialist. The tail end of 2018 saw the majority of the country focused on the mid-term elections, and with good reason. Those results will impact not only the political landscape, but also every business, organization and individual in the U.S. [Read More]

How Health Policy Could Wobble (Forward?) Now

By Perry Braun - December 13, 2018

Published in Think Advisor, written by Perry Braun, Executive Director of Benefit Advisors Network. While much of the focus in 2018 came down to the elections, we now have those results and can begin moving forward. But, with a divided Congress, what will the impact be on the health insurance marketplace, the health care delivery [Read More]

Commuting and Adoption Benefit Amounts Rise in 2019

By Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management - November 20, 2018

Employees don’t pay income taxes on the value of these benefits. Written by Stephen Miller, CEBS including interview questions with Bobbi Kloss, Director of Human Capital Management Services. Employees and employers can put $5 more into monthly transit and parking benefits in 2019, the IRS announced Nov. 15. Revenue Procedure 2018-57, which increased the annual [Read More]

The Benefits of A 401(k), Including Reducing Student Loan Debt

By Benefit Advisors Network - October 29, 2018

Written by Bobbi Kloss, Human Capital Management Director. Published in the Los Angeles Advertising Human Resources Professionals Monthly, October 2018. When private employers think about financial wellness they typically center their thoughts on 401(k) plans. The conversation today though has expanded the discussion on 401(k) programs to include student loan debt and other high-impact life events [Read More]

Taking family leave? Your employer could get a tax credit for paying you while you’re out

By Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management - October 16, 2018

Written by: Lindsay Von Someren, Credit Karma, with contributions from Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management Services.  In a nutshell: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act contains a hidden gem: a tax credit for your employer if your employer pays you while you’re out on family or medical leave. If you’re lucky, you might [Read More]

HR Trends: Are you prepared for job candidates to ask, “Why should I work here?”

By Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management - October 2, 2018

Here are three areas HR leaders should be thinking about as they aim to attract talented employees (and keep their existing ones) in 2019. The stars have aligned for today’s job seekers: unemployment is at historic lows and job openings are plentiful. For millennials in particular, the urge to seek out a new role is [Read More]

Culture vs. Discrimination in the Workplace

By Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management - August 28, 2018

“Employee turnover at all-time highs.” “Lowest unemployment rates in 18 years.” Discrimination in the Workplace vs. Culture, do these headlines sound familiar? They should, as they have dominated the business news media and the Human Resources forums for the past year. The facts behind these headlines are a reflection of the challenges that all employers [Read More]

Attraction and Retention: A Culture for Employee Engagement (Part 3)

In Part 1 of our three-part series from the October 2017 newsletter, Company Culture is the First Draw for Candidates, we explored the converging forces that are creating a competitive labor market for employers. At 4.1% – the lowest unemployment rates in 10 years based on January 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics data – employers [Read More]

The DOL’s PAID Program: Everything you need to know

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL-WHD) recently announced its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program to assist employers in determining their compliance status to the Fair Labor Standards (FLSA). The PAID program is a six-month voluntary pilot program which FLSA–covered employers can participate in to self-audit their compliance with the overtime and [Read More]

IRS Releases 2019 HSA Contribution Limits and HDHP Deductible and Out-of-Pocket Limits

By Stacy Barrow - May 22, 2018

In Rev. Proc. 2018-30, the IRS released 2019 HSA Contribution Limits regarding inflation-adjusted amounts for 2019 relevant to HSAs and high deductible health plans (HDHPs).  The table below summarizes those adjustments and other applicable limits. Out-of-Pocket Limits Applicable to Non-Grandfathered Plan The ACA’s out-of-pocket limits for in-network essential health benefits have also been announced and [Read More]