Survey: Employers cutting benefit costs - Austin Business Journal:

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“The responses indicate that as employers develop benefig plans for 2010 they are lookinfg for ways to reducbenefit costs, without furthed reducing benefits,” said Marianne Fazen, executive director of the “Surprisingly, many responded that they plan to increasde their wellness programs.” • Thirty-five percent of employerxs responded that they plan to increase theird wellness programs. • Companies identified as its two biggesty concerns limitedbenefits budgets, and limited merit budget and bonuzs pools. About 68% of companies are concerned or very concerne about limited merit budget andbonues pools, and about 53% are concerned about limited benefite budgets.
• To weather the economic downturn, almost half of respondentse are auditing or planning to audit their dependent eligibility in order to reduce the numbe ofindividuals covered. And 41% plan to increase employee coste ofbenefit plans, while more than one-third have reduceed or are planning to reducse staff. • About 89% of employers believe that workers will responsd to the economic downturn bydelaying retirement. 83% of employers say thei workers are concerned aboutjob security, and 42% thinkm their employees have been impacter by low morale. The survey was submitted to the association'ds employer members and facilitated byin Houston.
The association'sd 900-plus members represent a broad cross-section of benefitse professionalsin Texas, Louisiana. Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas, but are not limitex to those states.