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Compensation & Benefits

Survey: 58% retired earlier than planned

11/25/2024
There has been a spike in early retirements due to reasons beyond employees’ control, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s just-released 2024 Spending in Retirement study. Health problems, disabilities and changes in employment because of downsizing, business closures and reorganizations have led many to retire earlier than they planned to.

Under GOP, could comp time replace overtime pay?

11/20/2024
A proposal calls for Congress to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act, which proposes amending the Fair Labor Standards Act. It would authorize private employers to provide one-and-a-half hours of comp time for each overtime hour worked.

Review mental-health benefits to ensure they serve your employees’ needs

11/20/2024
Employee demand for mental-health services has increased and employers are responding. That goes beyond making sure health insurance plans comply with federal law by covering mental-health conditions to the same degree they cover physical conditions.

The catch with 401(k) catch-up contributions

11/20/2024
Employees aged 50 and over have had the option of making additional 401(k) pretax contributions, called catch-up contributions, for more than 20 years. SECURE 2.0 increases the catch-up contribution amount to the greater of $10,000 or 50% more than the regular catch-up amount in 2025 for individuals who have attained ages 60, 61, 62 and 63 before the end of 2025. This is not as straightforward as it appears.

Look, up in the sky, it’s the W-2 that stole Christmas

11/20/2024
Year-end begins to become overwhelming in December. The best way to combat the onset of panic is with a little humor. You can mix a lot of metaphors in one headline, but you can’t mix up your W-2 responsibilities, because neither the Social Security Administration nor the IRS will be sympathetic.

In the Payroll Mailbag: December ’24

11/20/2024
When are reimbursements taxable if they cross years? … Does a logo on a jacket affect taxability?

Conundrum: FMLA leave during the holidays

11/20/2024
Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Wednesdays this holiday season. Holidays falling on Wednesdays usually take the pressure off employers to give off either the day before or the day after, just to round out the week and to show some good will. But Wednesday holidays don’t eliminate all of the FMLA leave considerations you must address.

Two-minute payroll reads: December ’24

11/20/2024
Payroll is complicated and your time is limited. Spend two minutes reading these digests and you’ll be up to date on key payroll developments.

Candy cane catastrophe: Waiting on these year-end tasks

11/20/2024
Don’t drown your year-end stress by chewing candy canes. Instead, use this checklist to whisk through these onerous but necessary tasks and you’ll have time to party, too.

‘We didn’t know’ isn’t reasonable cause for not filing 1099s

11/20/2024
The window for claiming reasonable cause for failing to e-file information returns is so small, it’s virtually impossible to fit through. An employer wound up on the outside looking in after its reasonable-cause defense—that it had no idea the employee responsible for filing Forms 1099 buried the penalty notices—fell flat with a federal appeals court.