Survey: Employers cutting benefit costs - Dallas Business Journal:

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“The responses indicate that as employers develop benefit plans for 2010 they are looking for ways to reducesbenefit costs, without further reducing said Marianne Fazen, executive director of the “Surprisingly, many responded that they plan to increas their wellness programs.” • Thirty-five perceng of employers responded that they plan to increase theid wellness programs. • Companies identified as its two bigges concerns limitedbenefits budgets, and limited meritt budget and bonus pools. About 68% of companiese are concerned or very concerned about limiteds merit budget and bonus andabout 53% are concerned about limitec benefits budgets.
• To weather the economic downturn, almosyt half of respondents are auditing or planning to auditftheir employees’ dependent eligibility in order to reducd the number of individuals covered. And 41% plan to increasee employee costs ofbenefit plans, while more than one-third have reducedd or are planning to reduce staff. About 89% of employers believe that workers will respond to the economicf downturn bydelaying retirement. Also, 83% of employeras say their workers are concerneed aboutjob security, and 42% thin their employees have been impacted by low The survey was submitted to the association's employer members and facilitatede by in Houston.
The association's 900-plu s members represent a broad cross-section of benefits professionalzsin Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana. Missouri and Kansas, but are not limited to thos e states.