Thursday, June 29, 2006
[IWS] Watson Wyatt: RETIREE MEDICAL PLANS Restricted Further SURVEY [28 June 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Watson Wyatt
Employers Anticipate Further Restrictions on Retiree Medical Plans, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds [28 June 2006]
Most Now Relying on Medicare Subsidies to Offset Costs
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16207
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 Despite widespread use of the Medicare federal subsidy, a vast majority of employers are planning to curtail their retiree medical plans for current and future retirees in the next five years, according to a new study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital consulting firm.
The survey of 163 companies found that only 5 percent of employers do not expect to place any additional restrictions on their medical benefits for future retirees over the next five years and 7 percent do not expect to implement further restrictions for current retirees. Fourteen percent of employers plan to eliminate the benefit entirely for future post-65 retirees and 6 percent plan to eliminate it for their current post-65 retirees.
One bit of good news for employees is that the vast majority of employers currently providing retiree medical benefits will continue to do so, said Cara Jareb, director of retiree medical consulting at Watson Wyatt. The bad news is that retirees especially future retirees will have to pay more for their coverage.
Nearly two-thirds of employers (65 percent) anticipate increasing the financial contributions for future retirees and half (50 percent) expect to change their plan design. Twenty-four percent intend to tighten eligibility for future retirees and 10 percent expect to place a new or lower cap on their employer contributions. As more companies adopt account-based programs for current employees, 26 percent anticipate offering this option to their future retirees
AND MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Watson Wyatt
Employers Anticipate Further Restrictions on Retiree Medical Plans, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds [28 June 2006]
Most Now Relying on Medicare Subsidies to Offset Costs
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16207
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 Despite widespread use of the Medicare federal subsidy, a vast majority of employers are planning to curtail their retiree medical plans for current and future retirees in the next five years, according to a new study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital consulting firm.
The survey of 163 companies found that only 5 percent of employers do not expect to place any additional restrictions on their medical benefits for future retirees over the next five years and 7 percent do not expect to implement further restrictions for current retirees. Fourteen percent of employers plan to eliminate the benefit entirely for future post-65 retirees and 6 percent plan to eliminate it for their current post-65 retirees.
One bit of good news for employees is that the vast majority of employers currently providing retiree medical benefits will continue to do so, said Cara Jareb, director of retiree medical consulting at Watson Wyatt. The bad news is that retirees especially future retirees will have to pay more for their coverage.
Nearly two-thirds of employers (65 percent) anticipate increasing the financial contributions for future retirees and half (50 percent) expect to change their plan design. Twenty-four percent intend to tighten eligibility for future retirees and 10 percent expect to place a new or lower cap on their employer contributions. As more companies adopt account-based programs for current employees, 26 percent anticipate offering this option to their future retirees
AND MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 6:36 AM
