Employee Benefits

by Martocchio, Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780073530529
• ISBN10: 0073530522
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-07
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Summary

The Fourth Edition of Employee Benefits: A Primer for Human Resource Professionals was written to promote an understanding of employee benefits programs among current human resource practitioners, employees who simply wish to gain a fuller understanding of employee benefits practices, and students enrolled in college-level compensation and benefits courses.

It’s relevant to students who plan to be general managers, who deal with a variety of human resource issues in their day-to-day jobs, as well as to those who expect to be human resource practitioners. The real-world focus of Martocchio’s text is evident on every page, as the author seeks to balance current academic thought with brief examples of contemporary benefits practices in business.

Future practitioners will use this textbook as an introductory reference guide, one that will enable them to put benefit practices into their appropriate context, and to orient them toward asking the "right" questions of experts related to employee benefits, like accountants, attorneys, government bodies, etc.

Martocchio’s Employee Benefits is forward-thinking and seeks to bring the topic into the mainstream of compensation understanding. The Fourth Edition continues to be concisely written, highlighting key issues in order to provide the reader with a solid foundation for discussing benefits issues with employee benefits professionals. As practices and laws affecting benefits change frequently, Martocchio stays on the cusp of recent developments, capturing all recent changes with his Fourth Edition.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Employee Benefits	p. 1
Introducing Employee Benefits	p. 3
Defining and Exploring Employee Benefits	p. 4
Defining Employee Benefits	p. 5
Employee Benefits in the Total Compensation Scheme	p. 6
The Field of Employee Benefits Practice	p. 8
Legally Required Benefits	p. 9
Discretionary Benefits	p. 10
Origins of Employee Benefits	p. 14
Legal and Regulatory Influences on Discretionary Benefits Practices	p. 15
Strategic Planning for the Benefits Program	p. 17
Basic Strategic Planning Concepts	p. 17
Approaches to Strategic Benefit Planning	p. 19
Information Used in Strategic Benefit Planning	p. 22
External Environment	p. 22
Internal Environment	p. 27
Plan for the Book	p. 29
The Psychology of Employee Benefits	p. 31
Employment Relationship as Social Exchange	p. 33
How Employee Benefits Constitute Social Exchange	p. 33
Workforce Changes and the Employment Relationship	p. 34
Psychological Contracts	p. 36
Psychological Contract Development	p. 38
Psychological Contract Violation	p. 39
Employee Benefits as Constituting Psychological Contracts	p. 40
Employee Attitudes and Employee Benefits	p. 41
Justice and Perceived Organizational Support	p. 41
Organizational Citizenship Behavior	p. 43
Summary	p. 44
The Economics of Employee Benefits	p. 49
Why Do Employers Offer Benefits?	p. 50
Cost Advantage	p. 51
Recruiting Certain Types of Workers	p. 54
Tax Incentives	p. 55
Who Pays for Benefits?	p. 56
Two Extensions	p. 62
Government Mandates	p. 62
Differences in Benefit Cost Increases across Groups of Workers	p. 64
Summary	p. 65
Regulating Employee Benefits	p. 67
Labor Unions and Employee Benefits: The National Labor Relations Act of 1935	p. 69
The Internal Revenue Code	p. 72
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938	p. 73
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974	p. 75
Defining Pension Plans and Welfare Plans	p. 77
Scope of Coverage for Pension Plans and Welfare Plans	p. 78
Protection of Employee Rights	p. 78
Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code Relating to Retirement Plans	p. 82
Jurisdiction, Administration, Enforcement, Joint Pension Task Force, and Other Issues	p. 82
Plan Termination Insurance	p. 83
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985	p. 86
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996	p. 88
The Pension Protection Act of 2006	p. 90
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws	p. 91
The Equal Pay Act of 1963	p. 92
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964	p. 93
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)	p. 93
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978	p. 95
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990	p. 96
The Civil Rights Act of 1991	p. 97
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008	p. 98
Summary	p. 99
Retirement, Health, and Life Insurance	p. 103
Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans	p. 105
Defined Retirement Plans	p. 107
Origins of Employer-Sponsored Retirement Benefits	p. 107
Trends in Retirement Plan Coverage and Costs	p. 108
Minimum Standards for Qualified Plans	p. 109
Qualified Plans	p. 109
Defined Benefit Plans	p. 113
Benefit Formulas	p. 113
Nondiscrimination Rules: Testing	p. 114
Accrual Rules	p. 115
Minimum Funding Standards	p. 117
Benefit Limits and Tax Deductions	p. 118
Defined Contribution Plans	p. 118
Individual Accounts	p. 118
Investments of Contributions	p. 118
Employee Participation in Investments	p. 119
Nondiscrimination Rules: Testing	p. 119
Accrual Rules	p. 120
Minimum Funding Standards	p. 120
Contribution Limits and Tax Deductions	p. 120
Types of Defined Contribution Plans	p. 120
Section 401(k) Plans	p. 120
Profit-Sharing Plans	p. 121
Stock Bonus Plans	p. 122
Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs)	p. 122
Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLEs)	p. 123
Section 403(b) Tax-Deferred Annuity Plans	p. 123
Section 457 Plans	p. 125
Hybrid Plans	p. 125
Cash Balance Plans and Pension Equity Plans	p. 125
Target Benefit Plans	p. 130
Money Purchase Plans	p. 131
Age-Weighted Profit-Sharing Plans	p. 131
Summary	p. 132
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Programs	p. 135
Defining and Exploring Health Insurance Programs	p. 136
Origins of Health Insurance Benefits	p. 137
Health Insurance Coverage and Costs	p. 138
Individual versus Group Insurance Coverage	p. 143
Regulation of Health Insurance Programs	p. 143
Federal Regulation	p. 143
Tax Regulations	p. 146
State Regulation	p. 146
Fee-for-Service Plans	p. 148
Types of Medical Expense Benefits	p. 148
Features of Fee-for-Service Plans	p. 149
Major Medical Insurance Plans: Supplemental and Comprehensive	p. 152
Managed Care Plans	p. 153
Health Maintenance Organizations	p. 153
Types of Health Maintenance Organizations	p. 153
Features of Health Maintenance Organizations	p. 154
Preferred Provider Organizations	p. 156
Features of Preferred Provider Organizations	p. 156
Point-of-Service Plans	p. 157
Specialized Insurance Benefits	p. 158
Dental Insurance	p. 159
Vision Insurance	p. 160
Prescription Drug Benefits	p. 160
Mental Health and Substance Abuse	p. 162
Maternity Care	p. 163
Consumer-Driven Health Care	p. 164
Retiree Health Care Benefits	p. 166
Summary	p. 169
Employer-Sponsored Disability Insurance and Life Insurance	p. 171
Disability Insurance	p. 172
Origins of Disability Insurance	p. 173
Short-Term Disability Insurance Programs	p. 174
Long-Term Disability Insurance Programs	p. 175
Funding Disability Insurance Programs	p. 176
Employee and Employer Tax Obligations	p. 176
Relationships between Company-Sponsored Disability Plans and Benefits Laws	p. 177
Life Insurance	p. 179
Origins of Life Insurance	p. 179
Coverage and Costs of Life Insurance	p. 179
Types of Life Insurance Programs	p. 180
Group Term Life Insurance	p. 180
Tax Treatment of Group Term Life Insurance	p. 183
Universal Life Insurance	p. 185
Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance	p. 185
Summary	p. 185
Government-Mandated Social Security and Workers' Compensation Programs	p. 189
Origins of Social Security and Workers' Compensation Programs	p. 190
Introduction to the Social Security Programs	p. 191
Employers Required to Participate in Social Security Programs	p. 192
Administration of Social Security Programs	p. 196
Social Security Numbers	p. 197
Old-Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)	p. 197
Qualifying for OASDI Benefits	p. 197
Determining Benefit Amounts	p. 197
Old-Age Benefits	p. 198
Survivor Benefits	p. 202
Disability Benefits	p. 204
Medicare	p. 205
Eligibility Criteria for Medicare Benefits	p. 205
Medicare Part A Coverage	p. 207
Medicare Part B Coverage	p. 207
Medigap Insurance	p. 207
Medicare Part C: Medicare Advantage	p. 208
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit	p. 209
Medicare as the Primary or Secondary Payer	p. 209
Financing OASDI and Medicare Programs	p. 210
Unemployment Insurance	p. 212
Eligibility Criteria for Unemployment Insurance Benefits	p. 212
Unemployment Insurance Benefit Amounts	p. 213
State Compulsory Disability Laws (Workers' Compensation)	p. 215
Coverage of Workers' Compensation Programs	p. 216
Cost of Workers' Compensation Insurance	p. 217
Workers' Compensation Claims	p. 217
Types and Amounts of Workers' Compensation Benefits	p. 218
Employers' Rights under Workers' Compensation Programs	p. 220
Financing Workers' Compensation Programs	p. 222
Employer and Employee Tax Obligations	p. 223
Relationship between Workers' Compensation and Benefits Laws	p. 224
Summary	p. 225
Services	p. 229
Paid Time-Off and Flexible Work Schedules	p. 231
Defining and Exploring Paid Time-Off Programs	p. 232
Paid Time-Off Practices	p. 234
Holidays	p. 235
Vacation	p. 236
Sick Leave	p. 239
Personal Leave	p. 239
Integrated Paid Time-Off Policies or Paid Time-Off Banks	p. 240
Bereavement or Funeral Leave	p. 241
Jury Duty and Witness Duty Leaves	p. 241
Military Leave	p. 242
Nonproduction Time	p. 243
On-Call Time	p. 243
Sabbatical Leave	p. 244
Volunteerism	p. 245
Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993	p. 245
Flexible Scheduling	p. 249
Flextime Schedules	p. 249
Compressed Workweek Schedules	p. 250
Telecommuting	p. 251
Summary	p. 252
Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits	p. 255
Defining Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits	p. 256
Rationale for Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits	p. 256
Tax Benefits for Employers and Employees	p. 257
The Mental and Physical Well-Being of Employees and Family Members	p. 257
Employee Assistance Programs	p. 257
Wellness Programs	p. 263
Family Assistance Programs	p. 266
Adoption Assistance Programs	p. 267
Educational Benefits for Employees	p. 268
Educational Assistance Programs	p. 268
Tuition Reimbursement Programs	p. 269
Scholarship Programs	p. 269
Support Programs for Daily Living	p. 271
Transportation Services	p. 271
Physical Fitness	p. 272
Summary	p. 272
Extending Employee Benefits: Design and Global Issues	p. 275
Managing the Employee Benefits System	p. 277
A Comparison of Traditional Benefits Plans and Flexible Benefits Plans	p. 278
A One-Size-Fits-All Approach	p. 278
Employer Choice to Customize Benefits	p. 279
Cafeteria Plans under Section 125	p. 280
Types of Flexible Benefit Plan Arrangements	p. 282
Communicating the Employee Benefits Program	p. 286
Legal Considerations in Benefits Communication	p. 286
The "Good Business Sense" of Benefits Communication	p. 288
Managing the Costs of Employee Benefits	p. 292
Cost-Control Methods	p. 293
Employee Education	p. 294
Utilization Revieius	p. 294
Case Management	p. 295
Provider Payment Systems	p. 296
Lifestyle Interventions	p. 296
Outsourcing the Benefits Function	p. 297
The Future of Employee Benefits	p. 298
Changing Employment Contract	p. 298
Accountability to Shareholders	p. 299
Recent and Proposed Legislation	p. 299
Domestic Partner Benefits and Same-Sex Marriage Issues	p. 300
Generational Diversity and Workplace Conflict	p. 302
Presidential-Year Politics	p. 303
Summary	p. 305
Global Employee Benefits at a Glance	p. 307
Not All Employee Benefits Are Alike	p. 308
North America	p. 308
Canada	p. 309
Mexico	p. 312
South America	p. 313
Brazil	p. 313
Argentina	p. 315
Europe	p. 316
France	p. 317
Germany	p. 318
Spain	p. 320
United Kingdom	p. 321
The Netherlands	p. 322
Italy	p. 324
Poland	p. 325
Sweden	p. 326
Russia	p. 328
Asia	p. 329
The People's Republic of China	p. 329
Hong Kong	p. 331
Japan	p. 332
South Korea	p. 334
India	p. 335
Saudi Arabia	p. 337
Africa	p. 338
South Africa	p. 338
Australia	p. 339
Summary	p. 340
Glossary	p. 347
Index	p. 371
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