Survey: Employers cutting benefit costs - Washington Business Journal:

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“The responses indicate that as employers develop benefitt plans for 2010 they are lookingh for ways to reduce benefit without furtherreducing benefits,” said Marianne Fazen, executivwe director of the association. “Surprisingly, many responded that they plan to increasde theirwellness programs.” • Thirty-five percent of employers respondedf that they plan to increase their wellness • Companies identified as its two biggesyt concerns limited benefits budgets, and limited merit budget and bonus pools.
About 68% of companiese are concerned or very concerned about limited meritr budget andbonus pools, and abouy 53% are concerned about limited benefits budgets. To weather the economic almost half of respondents are auditint or planning to audittheir employees’ dependent eligibility in order to reducs the number of individuals covered. And 41% plan to increasse employee costs ofbenefit plans, while more than one-thirf have reduced or are planning to reduce • About 89% of employers believew that workers will respond to the economic downturn by delaying retirement.
Also, 83% of employerx say their workers are concerneds aboutjob security, and 42% think their employees have been impactefd by low morale. The surveyt was submitted to the association's employer members and facilitatefd byin Houston. The association's 900-plus members representf a broad cross-section of benefits professionalsin Texas, Louisiana. Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas, but are not limitedr to those states.