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Special Section on Communication of Benefits
Communications Planning 
by Ann Black
Effective planning is essential for successful benefits communication. The strategic process that an organization goes through to achieve its business objectives also applies in this area. Communications planning involves identifying the audience, setting objectives, budgeting, selecting communications media, establishing production schedules, coordinating production and, most important, measuring results.
Taking the Pulse of Personalized and Online Employee Communication Strategies: The Second Annual Survey of Major Employer Trends
by Susan Kolman
This article describes the needs of employees to understand organizational purpose and to find a balance between work and their personal lives. This examination of the uses of personalized communication to meet these needs and the analysis of current industry trends will help benefit professionals focus on their own communication plans as they strive to meet the challenges of today's workforce.
General Articles
Section 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) Plans: Who Can Do What
by John G. Kilgour
This article examines the three main types of supplementary pension arrangements. It focuses on their origins and development, employer eligibility, deferral and contribution limits, funding arrangements and other technical requirements as they have been affected by recent developments.
What Businesses Are Doing to Attract and Retain Employees--Becoming an Employer of Choice
by Kenneth F. Clarke, CEBS
The new economy has made many businesses anxious to become employers of choice. The author uses a case study to show how one firm achieved this goal and explains the role that innovative benefits practices and other HR policies can play in attracting and retaining qualified employees.
The Legal Challenge to ERISA Preemptions
by Kimberly M. Hrehor and Oren Renick
Managed care, once celebrated as a vehicle to halt the increasing cost of health care, has come under increasing fire from patients and health care providers, accused of cutting costs and managing care at the expense of patients. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) has been a shield for managed care organizations (MCOs), buffeting them from liability for quality-of-care issues. Lawsuits and legislation are chipping away at the protective shield of ERISA as MCOs find themselves more liable for their decisions and for the care provided by physicians with whom the MCO contracts.
Group Disability Income: New Policies Emphasize Employee Appeal
by Clayton M. Yokota
Group disability insurance is a voluntary benefit that offers advantages to both employers and employees. Employees who want this kind of coverage realize that their employers have done much of the homework for them in terms of comparing benefits, rates and contract provisions. Employers recognize an opportunity to add a benefit that may help attract and retain valuable employees with little additional cost or administrative burden.
Managing Prescription Drug Costs
by Joanne M. Sica
This article reviews prescription drug cost trends, touching on issues such as cost versus value, demographic changes, direct-to-consumer advertising, effects of the Internet and disease management. The author also discusses pharmacy benefit managers, as well as various utilization management strategies like benefit plan design and the use of formularies.
Human Rights Issues and Employee Benefit Plans
by Fiona Campbell
Although Canadian employers generally are not required to provide employee benefits, once an employer has made employee benefits part of the compensation package, the benefits must be provided to all employees in a nondiscriminatory manner. To date, many of the Canadian cases that have arisen in the employee benefits area relate to three issues: sex and pregnancy discrimination, discrimination on the basis of disability and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Recently, there have also been some cases concerning age discrimination in the employee benefits area.
Vision Care: A Compensation Cornerstone
by Richard W. Steere
Vision care is a benefit that provides advantages for both employers and employees, and it has become an essential element of most competitive benefit packages. Well-designed vision care programs offer participants choice, options, self-help and value. An option that employers may want to consider is reduced prices on laser vision correction procedures.