As health care costs increase, a rising number of companies are using workplace wellness programs to improve employees' health and reduce medical claims, the Associated Press reports.
The Internal Revenue Service announced Friday that it has indefinitely suspended the requirement for taxpayers to file Schedule F of Form 5500, "Fringe Benefit Plan Annual Information Return."
The Washington Post reports that after years of skepticism, the military is embracing laser eye surgery with enthusiasm, envisioning soldiers in Afghanistan and other hot spots who no longer have to worry about glasses fogging up or contacts popping out during combat.
In a reversal, many of the nation's largest pension funds threw their weight Tuesday behind efforts to persuade companies to count the cost of executives' stock options as an expense when they report their income, the Washington Post reports.
Chicago Tribune workplace columnist Carol Kleiman notes that the Internal Revenue Code allows employers to provide work-related transportation benefits to employees on a pretax basis.
Sabbaticals, never one of the most popular benefits, are getting even rarer these days, with the companies that do offer them cutting back, according to the Reuters news agency.
Employees want more control and choice in health care, are interested in new consumer choice models, and rank health care as the most important benefit, according to a new consumer study from outsourcing and consulting firm Hewitt Associates.
Amid corporate belt-tightening, many new employees have been accepting salaries that are lower than they might have hoped. But consultants tell The New York Times that they may be able to make up some of the difference by taking better advantage of their benefit packages.
