Assignment:
1. Which of the following is a characteristic of integrated paid time off policies?
2. This policy allows employees to schedule time off without having to justify the reasons, and is more effective in controlling absenteeism than other types of absence control policies.
3. The giving of one's time to support a meaningful cause is better known as this.
4. Which of the following is true about providing paid time off for volunteer services?
5. You broke your neck at work. The company called to inform you that they had to switch your benefits from the short-term disability account to the long-term account. That means you've probably been off work around how long?
6. Which of the following is NOT a condition manifesting short-term disability?
7. This is a mental or physical disability for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was received, during a designated period preceding the beginning of disability insurance coverage.
8. Which of the following is a feature of short-term disability plans?
9. Self-inflicted wounds and drug dependency are generally considered as what in most short-term disability insurance plans?
10. Long-term disability benefits usually pay employees which range of monthly pretax salary?
11. What is the most common type of life insurance policy offered by companies?
12. By what percentage have total healthcare expenditures risen since 1960?
13. In 2010, discretionary benefits accounted for as much as what percentage of an employer's total payroll costs?
14. Discretionary benefits are generally divided into which three categories?
15. Which of the following is an example of a welfare practice?
16. The ________ is the time between the initial date of hire and the time that coverage in a disability insurance program begins.
17. ________ are paid time off for professional activities such as a research project or a curriculum development.
18. ________ are career and personal programs designed to develop the job-hunting skills and strategies of employees being laid off or terminated.
19. Unscheduled absenteeism has climbed to its highest levels in XYZ Company last month. In order to reduce the costs associated with unscheduled absenteeism HR professionals in XYZ Company decided to change their paid time off policy. This company used to grant each employee 10 vacation days, 5 paid days for sick leave, and 4 days for personal leave. With the new policy, this company combines vacation, sick leave, and personal leave policies into one single paid time off policy (i.e., 19 days). The management decided to keep funeral leave as a stand-alone policy. What is XYZ Company's new policy called?
20. An ________ refers to the minimum amount of time that an employee must wait after becoming disabled before disability insurance payments begin.
21. ________ life insurance gives protection to the beneficiaries of employees based on the insurance feature of term life insurance and a more flexible savings or cash accumulation plan than found in whole life insurance plans.
22. Retirement programs, or ________, provide income to employees and their beneficiaries during some or all of their retirement.
23. XYZ Company provides a program for its employees who need help dealing with the effects of domestic violence. XYZ Company can offer this kind of service through which of the following programs?
24. Companies that offer long-term disability insurance plans only require an elimination period that runs how long?
25. Employer sponsored disability plans supplement legally required benefits established by which law?
26. Outplacement assistance programs are best suited for which condition?
27. XYZ Company tries to influence employee food choices by stocking vending machines with nutritional food. They also offer programs to teach stress reduction techniques. What kind of discretionary benefit program does this company sponsor?
28. Which of the following would be considered an act as part of a company's wellness program?
29. The approximate annual cost of employee assistance programs (EAPs) is usually no more than how much?
30. Referrals to on-site child care or elder care centers and company-sponsored day care programs are examples of which type of service?
31. This type of flexible work schedule allows employees to work four 10-hour days a week.
32. Full or partial reimbursement of training costs is which type of benefit?
33. Due to a recent merger with another major airline, ABC Airlines decided to layoff some of its employees. ABC Airlines offers training sessions to teach job search and interviewing techniques to those laid off employees. What kind of service was provided by this airline?
34. Smoking cessation, stress reduction, and weight loss programs are examples of which type of employee benefit program?
35. Which of the following is a strategic purpose fulfilled by discretionary benefits?
36. In the 1940s and 1950s, companies began offering ________ as an alternative to pay hikes in order to motivate employees through greater work benefits.
37. ________ replaces income for employees who become unable to work because of sicknesses or accidents.
38. Employers sponsor ________ to promote employees' physical and psychological health.
39. What are the components of discretionary benefits? Provide two examples for each component of discretionary benefits.
40. What kind of discretionary benefits would help companies to have better control over absenteeism?
41. What are the implications of discretionary benefits for strategic compensation?
42. Companies establish retirement plans following which of these three design configurations?
43. A new employee comes into your office and asks you how many hours a year he has to work to qualify as a year towards his vesting requirements. What would you tell him?
44. What specifies the rate at which participants accumulate benefits?
45. These represent a series of payments for the life of the participant and beneficiary.
46. What type of retirement plan is a 401(k)?
47. What type of pension plan commonly includes profit-sharing plans, stock bonus plans, and employee stock ownership plans?
48. This type of defined contribution plan, also known as a CODA, permits only private sector or tax-exempt employers' employees to tax defer part of their compensation to the trust of a qualified plan.
49. Which of the following is associated with 401(k) plans?
50. A company uses graduated first-dollar-of-profits formula for their profit-sharing plans. They choose to share 4% of the first $10 million of after-tax profits and 7% of the after-tax profits in excess of that level. Last year if this company's after-tax profit were $15 million, how much of this profit would be distributed to the employees?
51. Your company asked you to come up with a contribution plan that invests the contributions in company securities and distributes the payouts in stock instead of cash. Which plan would you suggest they use?
52. Which of the following represents the most approximate percentage for private sector employees who have access to at least one employer-sponsored health insurance program in 2010?
53. These types of insurance plans provide protection against health care expenses in the form of cash benefits paid to the insured, or directly to the provider after the services are rendered.
54. Which of the following is NOT a benefit covered by fee-for-service plans?
55. What are the two types of fee-for-service plans?
56. This term refers to the percentage of the health bill the insured employee is required to pay.
57. What is coinsurance?
58. This is the condition for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was received or recommended during a designated period prior to coverage.
59. What is another name for health maintenance organizations (HMOs)?
60. Common HMO copayment amounts for each doctor's visit vary between?
61. According the provisions in her health insurance plan with Get Well Insurance, Ursula's coinsurance payment would be $50 if she goes to Dr. Kitt, but will only be $25, if she goes to Dr. Matthew. She probably belongs to what type of insurance plan?
62. In which plan do employees possess the option to receive care from health care providers outside the designated network of physicians, paying more for the choice?
63. These types of insurance plans are set up to cover things like dental care, vision care, and prescription drugs.
64. Marty's employer has a prescription drug plan that will only make him pay 20% of cost of his prescription, if he goes only to certain pharmacies. What type of prescription drug plan does he have?
65. Mia has Parkinson's disease, but is on an insurance plan that enables her to have the drugs shipped to her house. She is probably on which type of prescription drug plan?
66. What percentage of Americans experience some form of mental illness at least once during their lifetime?
67. Jose invested $6,000 in pre-tax income into this healthcare plan, but lost the $780 left in it at the end of the year, because he didn't use it. What type of plan was it?
68. This consumer-driven health care option allows employees to contribute pre-tax wages annually to pay for qualified medical expenses, but they will lose the balance not used at year's end.
69. This type of consumer driven health care program allows employees to carry-over the unused funds still in their account.
70. Starting January 1, 2004, eligible individuals are allowed to establish HSAs under which law?
71. Which one of the following is probably the main reason that health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) are particularly appealing to employees with relatively low salaries or hourly wages?
72. ________ plans refer to pension plans that do not meet at least one of the minimum standard provisions.
73. ________ refers to an employee's nonforfeitable rights to pension benefits.
74. ________ plans permit employees to defer part of their compensation to the trust of a qualified defined contribution plan.
75. Fixed first-dollar-of-profits, graduated first-dollar-of-profits, and profitability threshold formulas establish ________ contributions.
76. IRS guidelines define ________ plans as "defined benefit plans that define benefits for each employee by reference to the amount of the employee's hypothetical account balance."
77. ________ are nominal payments an individual makes as a condition of receiving services.
78. ________ physicians determine when patients need the care of specialists, and help to control costs by reducing the number of unnecessary visits to specialists.
79. Under a preferred provider organization (PPO), higher ________ are set for services rendered by nonnetwork providers to discourage participants from using services outside of the network.
80. According to ________ Act of 2008, a plan must calculate only one deductible for treatment related substance use disorders and medical or surgical benefits.
81. ________ accounts allow employees to pay for specified health care costs not covered by an employer's insurance plan.
82. Compare and contrast defined contribution plans with defined benefit plans.
83. Define health insurance concepts such as insurance policy and premium and explain the different types of health insurance programs. What are the differences among these programs?
84. Compare and contrast commercial insurance (fee-for-service) and self-funded insurance.