FEI Weekly

October 23, 2019

Changing the health insurance game, saving on retirement disclosures, stay curios and lead.

Health Insurance Game Changer

Stat News

The new health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) option has the potential to disrupt existing models of employer-sponsored coverage as employers are faced with ever-increasing coverage costs. The HRA rule, finalized in June 2019 and effective in 2020, lets employers contribute to the cost of their employees’ coverage in the individual market. The White House projects that HRAs will ultimately be offered to 11 million employees, with a net gain in health coverage for 800,000 Americans.

Leaders Are Curious

strategy + business

Following in-depth interviews with more than 500 CEOs “applied curiosity” is the trait that explains why they were promoted to the top job over everyone else. Curiosity is table stakes for anyone hoping to succeed. People who have applied curiosity engage in relentless questioning to understand how things work and then they start wondering how those things could be made to work better.

Electronic Pension Disclosure Proposal Could Save Employers $2B

Investment News

The Department of Labor proposed a rule that it says will save employers $2.4 billion over the next 10 years through the reduction of materials, printing and mailing costs of retirement plan disclosures. The rule would allow sponsors of 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans to default participants with valid email addresses into receiving all their retirement plan disclosures — such as fee disclosure statements and summary plan descriptions — digitally instead of on paper.

The Climate Accounting War’s Next Battle

AP

Exxon Mobil is denying allegations from New York’s attorney general that it deceived investors regarding its financial disclosures tied to combating global warming. New York is seeking a comprehensive review and $476 million to $1.6 billion in damages to shareholders. Exxon counters that its two distinct ways of accounting for climate regulations are appropriate and that any scheme would mean the oil giant was “cheating” itself.

Yo. Speak Classy, Get The Job

The Ladders

Researchers found that those in positions of hiring often prefer applicants from higher social classes and they can accurately determine social class based on just 15 to 20 seconds of speech. The study found that hearing seven random words recited was enough to give people the opportunity to perceive the speaker’s social class more than 50% of the time. The ability to judge seeps into the job search, where hiring managers can make a quick judgement.