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Health Insurance renewals may be one of the most important decisions an employer makes each year. For most small businesses, group health insurance is one of the largest expenses they incur, meaning the process can be quite stressful. To help, we put together some guidance on the renewal period and what you can do to streamline the process for your business.

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Retirement plans can be a great benefit for small business owners looking to attract and retain employees. But between IRAs and 401(k)s, it can be challenging to decide which is the best plan suited for your organizational needs. For greater ease, some employers might prefer the SIMPLE IRA. For flexibility, though, the variety of choices available in a 401(k) can make this retirement plan a more attractive option. 

Choosing a retirement plan is often one of the most important financial decisions a business owner can make. To help with your decision, we explained the differences between a SIMPLE IRA and a 401(k) as well as the pros and cons of each retirement savings plan.

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Over time, it’s becoming more apparent that people’s personal and professional lives will occasionally overlap. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 63 percent of families with children under the age of 18 had both parents employed. Add in millions of single parents trying to balance home and work responsibilities and you have a lot of employees who seriously value a family-friendly workplace. 

Managing work and family obligations can take a serious toll on people, which can have a direct impact on your business. Not only can this balance impact the quality of their work, but it can also lead frustrated mothers and fathers to look for more family-friendly workplaces. Fortunately, family-friendly policies are beneficial to employers as well as employees. According to the University of Kansas, a family-friendly workplace can help you:

• Make employees more productive
• Create a less stressful work environment
• Attract more top talent
• Retain quality employees

So what can you do to make your business more family-friendly? Here are four policies that can help your business appeal to existing and potential family-oriented employees.

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As we approach the 2020 political season, healthcare remains an eternal “hot topic” issue; one that acts as an economist’s reoccurring bad dream. Much like a bad dream, the obvious warning signs of our domestic system’s atrophy disappear into the cognition of the economist’s mind and are forgotten by mid-morning. The economist, much like the rest of the country, has an eerie feeling due to this reoccurring healthcare nightmare, but can’t quite seem to pinpoint the root of their discomfort or begin to answer the lingering paradox of “How can we make healthcare in the U.S. financially sustainable?”

The answer to that question is a large, complex, and convoluted issue to tackle. An alternative approach is to look at our ongoing mistakes as an industry and start to peel back some of the fraud, waste, and abuse at least long enough to get our collective head above water to propose a semi-legitimate long-term solution. 

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The holidays are typically a time of joy and celebration, but they also require business owners to make some additional considerations about holiday pay. This type of pay makes it possible for employees to stay home for a selection of holidays and still get paid for those days. However, this benefit isn’t always a guarantee depending on the needs of your business. 

Are you unsure about how to handle holiday pay for your business? We broke down some common holiday pay questions to help you determine how holiday pay can affect your business and the best plan of action for your specific situation.

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As a business owner, you have to make countless decisions about the types of benefits your business offers. From health insurance plans to PTO, your benefits package impacts your employees and your bottom line. Deciding on the type of benefits you want to offer your employees, like maternity and paternity leave, can be a tricky situation.

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Health insurance is one of the most sought-after employee benefits, but not all health plans work the same way. There are several different types of group health insurance that differ in terms of how the insurance is purchased and how it affects the group’s premiums and plan options. 

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Changes in healthcare are prompting many small business owners to rethink the role of employee benefits like health insurance at their companies. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, health insurance premiums are expected to rise by 6 percent in 2020, which can weigh heavily on your bottom line. Below, we explored some of the top health insurance trends that will impact small businesses and how you can adapt in the ever-changing benefits landscape.

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The state of family medical leave has been in flux in New Jersey over the past year. In February, Governor Phil Murphy signed an amendment to expand both New Jersey’s Family Leave Act (NJFLA) and Family Leave Insurance law (NJFLI). Those changes went into effect back on June 30, 2019, but they wouldn’t be the only adjustments to leave laws during the years.

As of Oct. 7, 2019, business owners have a pair of new laws to plan for when it comes to how the state processes leave applications. With so many changes, it can be hard to keep all the new family leave updates straight. To help, here’s a breakdown of what business owners need to know about the changes to family leave in New Jersey over the course of 2019 – and why it might be important to business outside the Garden State as well.

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Retirement plans are one of the most valuable employee benefits offered by organizations today. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the vast majority of workers say having a retirement plan is critical to their overall job satisfaction. Perhaps that’s why this benefit is such a deal breaker for job hunters and one of the main reasons why so many workers stay with their current employers. 

It can be challenging for small businesses, however, to manage the administrative costs and compliance requirements associated with offering retirement savings plans. Only 53 percent of small-to-mid-sized businesses offer a retirement plan, with approximately 38 million private-sector employees without access to one through their employers.

The good news is that may be about to change. In July 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) clarified the definition of “employer” within the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in sponsoring a multiple employer contribution pension plan. In establishing the ‘final rule', which goes into effect Sept. 30, 2019, the DOL has made it easier and more cost-effective for small businesses to offer retirement plans to employees through Association Retirement Plans (ARPs).

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