OBHR - Chapter 13

To receive Social Security benefits, a qualified worker must work how many quarters of covered employment?

40

Once employees enter a company pension plan, the employer has ______ days to provide employees with a summary plan description, which provides detailed information about the plan.

90

What is the name of the law that was enacted in 2010 to provide health care benefits to more Americans?

Affordable Care Act

What are some advantages of flexible benefits plans? (Select all that apply.)

Employees can choose the benefits plans that work best for them. Cost control of benefits may occur, which is economical for the employer. Employees are more aware of the value of their benefits. Employees can gain greater awareness of what the employer provides for them.

True or false: Most organizations have a written document that summarizes the goal(s) of their various benefits programs, which helps them measure the outcomes of providing those benefits.

False

Which of the following is true of employee health care organizations?

Health maintenance organizations focus on preventive care.

Which strategies can employers use to control employee benefit costs? (Select all that apply.)

Hire temporary workers. Hire contingent workers. Hire part-time workers.

Which of the following is true for employees who sign up for a health maintenance organization (HMO) health care plan? (Select all that apply.)

They have benefits that are prepaid. They can only use HMO services.

What are some of the characteristics of employee wellness programs (EWPs)? (Select all that apply.)

They often try to promote positive health influences, such as good nutrition. They are often designed to target certain health care issues, such as high blood pressure. They work to lower the amount an employer must spend on employee health care.

What do workers' compensation laws cover? (Select all that apply.)

job-related death job-related injuries

Which employee benefit gives employers the best opportunity for cost containment?

medical benefits

The marginal tax rate is the

percentage of additional earnings that goes to taxes.

A good source for credible cost information about competitors' benefits packages is ______.

the Bureau of Labor Statistics

What is the full retirement age for Social Security benefits to begin for workers born in 1960 or later?

67 years

What kinds of benefits are provided by workers' compensation? (Select all that apply.)

death benefits rehabilitative services medical coverage disability income

Which of the following health care costs connected to employer-sponsored health insurance plans has increased the most over time for employees?

deductibles

A program that permits pretax employee contributions to be used to pay for uncovered health care expenses is called a(n) _____ account.

flexible spending

To eliminate the employer's obligation to provide employee benefits, an organization is more likely to classify workers as ______.

independent contractors

Which of the following is the type of child care support offered by the largest percentage of employers?

information about the cost and quality of available child care

In general, employees typically receive more benefits in ______ companies.

larger

What is a defined benefit plan?

It guarantees a specified retirement benefit level to employees based on their age, years of service, and earnings level.

Which of the following is true of disability insurance?

Long-term plans should be coordinated with Social Security benefits.

Which federal law mandates certain employers to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employees to care for newborns, adopted children, and seriously ill relatives among other reasons?

the Family and Medical Leave Act

What is the major advantage of a flexible spending account?

the increase in take-home pay that results from pretax payment of health expenses

How can companies assess employee preferences for specific benefits? (Select all that apply.)

through interviews through questionnaires through focus group discussions

What are some of the goals of unemployment insurance? (Select all that apply.)

to help unemployed workers secure new work to financially support unemployed workers during unemployment to encourage employers to retain employees and not lay them off

Why have some companies set up voluntary employee benefit association (VEBA) trusts?

to move retiree health care obligations off their financial statements

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, nonexempt employees must be paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked over ______ each week.

40

hat impact does FAS 106 have on companies?

Companies must carry the future costs of retiree benefits on their current financial statements.

True or false: Due to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers may try to have employees classified as nonexempt to avoid paying overtime.

False

Which of the following statements about retirement benefits is true?

Firms have started reducing retiree benefits.

What does the U.S. Supreme Court's 1978 Manhart ruling state?

It is illegal to force women to contribute more to a defined benefits plan.

The largest portion of an average retiree's income comes from which of the following?

Social Security

Which of the following statements about retirement benefits is true?

Social Security is a legally required source of retirement income.

Which of the following is an outcome of increased retiree health care costs and the FAS 106 ruling as it pertains to employee-sponsored health insurance? (Select all that apply.)

Some companies have discontinued providing health care benefits to white-collar retirees.

What type of benefit allows employees to travel abroad to seek cheaper medical care?

medical tourism benefit

No earnings test is required once full retirement age is reached. This means that these workers

no longer incur any earnings penalty.

What is the legal minimum of paid days off required for employees of U.S. companies?

no minimum

Family-friendly policies help companies do which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

promote loyalty of workers to company demonstrate their concern for the wellbeing of their employees balance work and family

Experience ratings specifically impose higher taxes on employers with high rates of unemployment or ________ claims.

workers' compensation

Employers who do not meet employee expectations regarding benefits run the risk of violating the ______.

"implicit contract" that exists between workers and the company they work for

What are the main kinds of medical expenses that company health care plans help cover? (Select all that apply.)

costs of visiting the doctor costs of surgery costs of going to the hospital

A qualified benefits plan must ______.

offer benefits to a variety of employees, not just senior level ones

Passive employee wellness programs ______.

offer limited or zero support to program participants

Independent contractors are also known by these names. (Select all that apply.)

outsourced workers freelancers

Social Security retirement benefits are financed by a(n) ______.

payroll tax assessed to both the employer and the employee

True or false: The tax treatment of benefits programs is often less favorable for employees than the tax treatment of wages and salaries.

False

________ permit pretax contributions to an employee account that can be drawn on to pay for uncovered health care expenses (such as deductibles or copayments).

Flexible spending accounts

Which of the following statements about communicating with employees about benefits is true?

Most employees do not fully understand what their benefits provide.

Dylan does not like how his company is investing the pension funds. The ________ requires his employer to offer him the opportunity choose other investment options.

Pension Protection Act of 2006

Which of the following statements about the number of hours worked by employees are true? (Select all the apply.)

Some employers prefer to pay employees overtime rather than hire additional workers. Benefit costs are fixed and do not usually increase when an employee works more hours. The benefits cost per hour can be reduced by having employees work longer hours.

True or false: When employee payments entirely subsidize disability coverage, no federal tax is paid on the money paid out to the employee.

True

Who makes all of the payments into a cash balance plan?

employer

The unemployment insurance program is financed primarily through ______.

federal and state taxes on employers

What factors have contributed to the enormous expansion of employee benefits? (Select all that apply.)

federal government legislation passed during the Great Depression the marginal tax rate controls of wages and prices implemented during World War II

Money spent on health care in the United States has ______ since 1960.

increased dramatically

Employee benefits may include ______. (Select all that apply.)

retirement packages insurance policies that assist families

What is the advantage of a qualified benefits plan?

better tax treatment than a nonqualified plan

How can employers keep their unemployment tax rate low?

by limiting the number of employee layoffs

To maximize their return on a benefits package, companies must ______.

communicate benefits information effectively to all employees

The major types of insurance provided by employers include which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

disability medical

Under amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, it is illegal for employers to ______.

discriminate against workers over age 40 in regard to pay or benefits

Which U.S. employees do not receive Social Security benefits? (Select all that apply.)

federal workers state workers railroad workers

What is the term for benefits packages in which employees have the freedom to choose the benefits they would like?

flexible benefits plan

Financial Accounting Statement (FAS) 106, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, states that

health care benefits provided after retirement should not be funded on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Employers can obtain competitive information about other employers' benefit packages through which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

hiring private consultants the Bureau of Labor Statistics the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The rise in the number of ______ workers reflects an effort by employers to limit overtime pay because most of these workers are exempt.

salaried

Which of the following nations spends the most on health care?

the United States

What is the acronym for government legislation that requires employers to permit employees to extend their health care coverage at group rates for a specified period following a "qualifying" event, such as a layoff?

COBRA

In which type of retirement plan does an employee's account earn a predetermined interest rate?

a cash balance plan

Which of the following is designed to protect employee pensions from potential financial troubles a company might endure?

a defined benefit plan

Offering an on-site child care facility is ______.

an expensive venture for an employer

Controlling labor costs is not possible without also controlling ______.

benefits costs

A defined contribution plan puts the responsibility for wise investing squarely on the shoulders of the ______.

employee

In the United States the amount of sick leave given to employees is often based on the ______.

employee's years of service

Company pensions are designed to encourage ______.

employees to work for a company for a long time

Which of the following is true of defined contribution plans?

At retirement age, an employee is entitled to contributions plus the investment returns.

How are workers' compensation benefits typically funded?

Employers purchase coverage from insurance companies.

Which of the following describe a defined contribution plan? (Select all that apply.)

It requires less administrative oversight on the part of the employer. It does not guarantee a certain benefit level to the employee upon retirement.

Which of the following statements about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is true?

The future of the ACA is unclear.

Which of the following statements about employer-sponsored insurance plans is true?

Two major types of plans are medical insurance and disability insurance.

An employer may hire more part-time workers than full-time ones to ______.

control benefit costs

In which of the following retirement plans does the employer set up an individual account for each employee and the employer alone contributes a percentage of the employee's salary?

cash balance plan

In addition to contributing to the cost of the health care premium, employees are also responsible for paying these other costs. (Select all that apply.)

co-payments co-insurance deductibles

Which factors should companies consider when working to control the cost of employee benefits? (Select all that apply.)

the amount spent on benefits that are legally required the company's "experience ratings" if the cost of benefits categories is forecasted to increase in the future

An employer's costs for workers' compensation insurance is based on which of the following factors? (Select all that apply.)

the types of jobs its employees do state where employer is located experience rating of the employer

How the federal government taxes disability benefits is contingent upon ______.

the way the disability policy is funded

What should be a key factor in designing an employee benefits package?

the wishes of current employees

Which of the following are conditions for an unemployed worker to be eligible for benefits under unemployment insurance? (Select all that apply.)

to have worked for a specific amount of time at a job to be currently looking for work to be ready to work

Why does the government offer two types of vesting schedules for employers and their pension plans?

to prevent companies from firing employees before they are fully vested in the pension plan

By law, employees who participate in an employer pension plan have ______ rights that guarantee access to the benefits of the plan according to a five- or seven-year schedule.

vesting

Providing a comprehensive employee benefits plan has a definitive impact on which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

when a person will retire from the company how long a person will work at the company who will accept a position at the company