Workplace Wellness | Chicago Employee Benefits

Picture this: You are sitting at your desk at 3pm and you realize you haven’t gotten up from your chair all day. You look around and see that you’ve been snacking instead of eating a lunch. You have read the same sentence 4 times and still can’t figure out what it means. Your back hurts, … Continued

It’s Flu Season…Again | Chicago Benefits Agency

When flu season hits, absenteeism skyrockets and productivity drops. In a recent article, Employee Benefit News points out that the first step is the “ounce of prevention,” the flu vaccine. Providing for vaccination can be a smart benefit to offer employees, and it requires navigating misinformation about the vaccine, motivating employees to act, and contending … Continued

IRS Announces 2019 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits | Chicago Employee Benefits

On November 1, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-83 announcing cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2019. Many pension plan limits will change next year because the increase in the cost-of-living index has met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. Other items, … Continued

Tri-Agency Proposed Rule on Health Reimbursement Arrangements | Chicago Employee Benefits Agency

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of Labor (DOL), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments) released their proposed rule regarding health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and other account-based group health plans. The DOL also issued a news release and fact sheet on the proposed rule. The proposed rule’s goal is to … Continued

PCORI Fee Increase for Health Plans | Chicago Benefits Consultants

On November 5, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-85 to announce that the health plan Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee for plan years ending between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019 will be $2.45 per plan participant. This is an increase from the prior year’s fee of $2.39 due to … Continued

Be the Boss You Want to See in the World | Chicago Employee Benefits Advisors

An article in the Harvard Business Review suggests that the traits that make someone become a leader aren’t always the ones that make someone an effective leader. Instead, efficacy can be traced to ethicality. Here are a few tips to be an ethical leader. Humility tops charismaA little charisma goes a long way. Too much … Continued