How disability insurance can be part of your paid leave and absence management strategy

By Marjory Robertson, AVP & Senior Counsel and Abigail O’Connell, Senior Counsel, Sun Life Financial When employees need to step away from work — whether to welcome a new child, care for a family member, or another life event — protecting their jobs and benefits, understanding their rights, knowing whether their employers will pay part…

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Selecting benefits and insurance products that make sense for you

By Carol Harnett, President, Council for Disability Awareness Note: An earlier version of this post appeared in Carol Harnett’s employee benefits column for Human Resource Executive. You don’t know me, but I’m someone people have come to trust when they want to have a conversation about employee benefits. I stand to neither gain nor lose anything…

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Beyond medical: How supplemental benefits help attract and retain talent

By Phil Bruen, Vice President, Group Life and Disability Products, MetLife As the annual enrollment period takes place in workplaces around the United States, human resources teams and employees have benefits on their minds. During this time, it’s important for employers to educate their workforces on how the benefits they provide can help workers achieve…

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The basics of the Social Security Disability Income Program

By Ted Norwood, General Counsel and Director of Representation, Integrated Benefits, Inc. The United States Social Security Administration offers two programs—confusingly named Social Security Disability Income and Supplemental Security Income—aimed at providing or supplementing the income of people who are unable to work. SSDI (also called Title II benefits) provides disability coverage for individuals who…

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Why do some insurance policies still use pre-existing conditions?

  By Larry Alkire, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, American Fidelity Assurance Company When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), the term—”pre-existing conditions”—became a household word. The ACA prevented health insurance carriers from denying you coverage, charging you more money, or refusing to pay for essential health benefits for any…

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How to upgrade your workplace on-boarding for Gen Z employees

A smooth on-boarding process is a must for today’s employees; after all, you want their first days to be inviting, and you want them to understand the ins and outs of your workplace. That’s because you have to make sure your employees are engaged right from the start, given today’s often fickle workforce. Although most…

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What makes a millennial-friendly workplace?

Move over, foosball table and bean bag chairs. If your organization’s goal is to attract the next generation of workers – and it better be, given the fact that millennials are the largest generation in the workforce today, reports the Pew Research Center – you want to make sure you’ve designed a workplace that features…

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Study shows LGBTQ Americans in need of retirement strategy guidance

A recent study from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) revealed lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) Americans say they want to preserve their retirement savings but tend to take bigger risks when it comes to investing. Forty-two percent of LGBTQ retirees and pre-retirees said the should become more conservative with their money…

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Want to hire Gen Z? Here’s how to find them…and impress them

Just when you thought you finally had this millennial thing down, a new generation is joining the workplace. Yes, welcome to Gen Z, soon coming to a workplace near you, if they’re not already there. Gen Z (typically described as those born in 1995 and later) is the first generation to grow up as “digital…

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Gen Z attitudes more accepting of risk and failure in the workplace

Failure is not only accepted by Generation Z but also welcome, according to a study released this week. In fact, Gen Z attitudes reveal 80 percent think embracing failure on a particular project will lead to innovation, while 17 percent think failure leads to more comfort when taking on risk. The study, which was done…

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Baby on board? How HR can help pregnant employees adjust

Creating a family-friendly workplace is vital for retaining talent—after all, 70 percent of mothers with children under 18 are in the workforce, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. It’s also becoming increasingly common for women to work while pregnant: The Pew Research Center cites Census Bureau data that shows 66 percent of mothers who…

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For millennials, app use and financial literacy don’t go hand in hand

A recent study released last week found despite the number of financial apps millennials are using, their personal finance management skills are severely lacking. The report, released by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at the George Washington University School of Business, examined the personal finance knowledge of millennials. Titled “Millennial Financial…

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