Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/330423
[ 54 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | JUNE 2014 For decades, the employer-employee relationship has been changing—and nowhere has it changed more so than in the United States. Just as the paternalistic, job-for-life culture gave way to a new era of employees shifting career paths and workplaces at a higher rate, the rise of DC retirement plans encouraged greater employee responsibility and curbed costs for employers. Now, as healthcare reform transforms the benefits world, the employer-employee relationship is entering what may be its ultimate stage: the era of accountability. Employees must take on the challenge of greater choice and even more responsibility for their health, retirement, and careers. The best employers will provide the tools, education, and programs to empower workers to do just that. Employees live in an increasingly do-it-yourself world. Today's generationally diverse workforce, with its broad spectrum of attitudes, values, and goals, must rely less and less on their employers and insurers to decide for them in matters of health, wealth, and work. Employees need reliable and relevant information in order to make the best decisions for their unique situations. Uniform solutions no longer make sense. An explosion of options and access to information has shifted greater decision-making and financial responsibility for healthcare and retirement planning to the individual, with 72 percent of large employers offering voluntary benefits to fill gaps in core employer-paid benefits, according to Mercer's 2013 National Survey of Employer- Sponsored Health Plans. The average number of 401(k) investment options has increased steadily since the era of DC began more than two decades ago. The opportunity to provide superior employee communications, thorough online and call-center engagement, remains a strong suit for benefits administrators. Meanwhile, the emergence of a DIY benefits culture has taken root in ways that are easing some of the cost pressure on companies. The Mercer survey reveals that two-thirds of large employers are expecting to offer a high-deductible, consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) in the next three years, while the Employee Benefit Research Institute notes that DC plans are serving as the primary retirement plan for 78 percent of today's workers. This DIY culture is a driving force within the accountability era and has significant implications for employers. Employers need strategic guidance to address the complexities and compliance issues of healthcare reform, but they also need help responding to the growing demand for new benefit solutions, benefit program flexibility, consumer control, and easy-to-use, online decision aids. To proactively support employers through these challenges, private exchanges provide the full spectrum of benefit choices—even for part-time or other employees who may not qualify for company benefits. The new realities of healthcare reform, DIY benefits, and more retirement choices mean that offerings are moving toward more of a business-to-consumer model. Ken Haderer is Mercer's US Benefits Administration Leader, based in Norwood, Mass. According to Mercer's 2013 National Survey of Employer- Sponsored Health Plans, the average number of 401(k) investment options has increased steadily since the era of DC began more than two decades ago. Era of Accountability Now more than ever, employees need to drive their benefits and retirement decisions. By Ken Haderer The Benefits Package