Thomas E. E. Murphy 
Benefits and Beyond [EPUB ebook] 
A Comprehensive and Strategic Approach to Retirement, Health Care, and More

Preface
1. Introduction to Benefits
The Plan Sponsor′s Dilemma
Employers and the Business Strategy
Learning Objectives
Topics Covered
Conclusion
Business Strategy Illustration
Chapter Exercises
2. Human Resource Economics, Principles, and Actuarial Concepts Applicable to Benefits
Total Rewards
Monetary Value of Benefits
The Benefits Model
Actuarial Principles
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
3. Lifecycle Events
Benefits Respond to Lifecycle Events
Health
Disability
Employee Counseling
Childbirth and Adoption
Daycare
Educational Assistance
Caring for Sick Dependents
Retirement
Retiree Health Care
Marriage
Separation from Employment
Death of the Employee
Time Off From Work
Cultural and Global Perspective
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
4. Retirement Plans–Evolution and Design
Introduction
Factors Affecting Retirement Plan Design
Financing of Retirement Plans
Fund Protection
The Benefits Model
Basic Design Features of a Defined Benefit Plan
Defined Contribution Plans
The Evolution Continues
Evolution and the Small Employer
Chapter Exercises
5. Pension Plans for Small Employers and Retirement Planning
Evolution Reaches the Small Employer and the Self-Employed
Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
The Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE)
Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
Money Purchase Plan
The Keogh
Contemporary Issues in Retirement
Retirement Planning–Will Your Employee Have Enough to Retire?
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
6. Health Care
Introduction
Parties and Interests Involved in Health Care
Employer-Sponsored Plans–Taxes, Financing, and Market Factors
Financing
Market Conditions
Inflation
Evolution of Health Care Plan Design–Some Principles
The Benefits Model–Health Care
Design Features of the Major Medical or Indemnity Plan
Coordination of Benefits
Bundling and Unbundling Plans
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
7. The Evolution of Health Care Plan Designs
Introduction
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)–Discounts and Volume
Point-of-Service Plan (POS) Plan–Management of Referrals
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)–More Managed Utilization and Care
Direct Contracting and Capitation
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Choices of Plans–What Should the Employer Sponsor Offer?
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Insured Plans
Third-Party Administrator (TPA) Selection
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
8. Improving Access to Quality Health Care–Do We Need Reform?
Underlying Problems of Cost and Affordability–Value and the Lack of Quality
Stating the Underlying Problem–High Costs of Health Care
Health Care Investment and Efficacy
Inappropriate Care and Clinical Quality Measurements
Errors Increase Costs
Our Culture, System, and Prices
Profile of the Uninsured
What Are Some Possible Solutions?
New Health Care Delivery and Financing Systems–Health Care Reform
Conclusion
Some Perspective on the Bureaucratic Barriers to Health Care Reform
Chapter Exercises
9. Benefit Legal Compliance: Employee Retirement Income and Security Act (ERISA), Internal Revenue Code (IRC), and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA)
History
The Basic Provisions of ERISA
Tax Treatment of Retirement Plans
Nonalienation of Benefits
Freezes and Terminations
Cash Balance Plans–Legal
Phased Retirement
Bankruptcy
ERISA and IRC Enforcement
Insuring Benefits When a Plan Is Terminated
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
10. Employee Benefits and Metrics
A New Perspective–Benefits Are Not Just Costs
The Metrics Template for Benefits
The Data and Metrics Toolbox–Surveys and Assessments
Toolbox–Efficiency, Costs, and Productivity
Toolbox–Data Sources for Measurement–Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS)
Sound Measurement–Validity, Reliability, and Practicality
Measuring the Financial Value of Benefit Plans–Using Capital Budgeting Analysis
Some Perspective
Design Principles
Data, Metrics, and Retirement Plans–Some Examples
Health Care and Measurement–Plan Design
Evaluating Providers and Their Clinical Outcomes–Sponsors′ Efforts
Conclusion
Chapter Exercises
11. Equity Benefits
Introduction
Retirement Plans and Stock
Stock Purchase Plans
Stock Option Plans
Restricted Stock
Stock Appreciation Rights
Some Issues Pertaining to Equity Awards
Performance-Based Equity Awards
Does Equity Compensation Work?
Chapter Exercises
12. Government-Sponsored and Mandated Benefits
Social Security Retirement Benefit (USA)
Some Social Security Economic and Policy Issues
Perspectives on Social Security Reform
Health Care After Retirement–Medicare
Medicare–Some Important Economic and Policy Issues
Medicaid
Perspectives on Medicaid
Veterans′ Health Care
Mandated Benefits (COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, USERRA)
Chapter Exercises
13. Global Benefits
Introduction
Health Care in Europe
Some General Principles and Features of European Health Systems
Financing of Health Care–European Countries
Current Problems and Issues in European Countries
Some Perspectives on Costs, Long-Term Health, and Reform
China′s Health Care System
Some Conclusions–The United States and Other Countries
Social Security–Providing and Insuring Retirement Income
Some General Retirement Approaches in European and Other OECD Countries
China and Social Security Retirement Income
Chile and the Personal Account
Some Perspectives on Social Security Reform
Competitive Labor Costs and Benefits
Expatriates and Global Benefits–Taking Your Business Abroad
Conclusion and Perspective–The Global Workplace
Chapter Exercises
14. Collective Bargaining and Benefits
General Obligation to Provide New Benefits Pursuant to Collective Bargaining
What Will Happen to the Current Plans?
Must the Company Bargain Over an Entry Into a Joint Trust?
Joint Trusts–Issues and Challenges
MPPAA–What Happens if the Employer Closes His Operation and Leaves the Joint Trust?
What if the Company and the Union Cannot Agree on Benefits?
What Happens if the Contract Expires and There Is No New Agreement?
What Happens if the Contract Expires and the Employees Go on Strike?
Bargaining and Retiree Health Care
Conclusion and Perspective
Chapter Exercises
15. Life and Disability Insurance, Pay for Time Not Worked
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Pay for Time Not Worked–Sick Days, Vacation, and Holidays
Chapter Exercises
16. Convenience and Accommodation Benefits, Benefits Administration
Convenience and Voluntary Benefits
Making the Benefits Fit the Workplace
Concierge Benefits
Flexibility
Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
Company-Sponsored Educational Benefits
Administration of Employer-Sponsored Benefits
Outsourcing Administration
Information Systems for Benefits
Plan Optimization and Communication
Chapter Exercises
Index
About the Author