The Internal Revenue Service offers a easy to read guidance on the limits on contributions and catch up contributions for qualified plans, Simplified Employee Pensions, SIMPLE plans and Thrift Savings Plans. See Tax Law Changes for IRAs and Other Retirement Plans

The Hawaii Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations has released the 2008 Maximum Weekly Wage Base and Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount for Temporary Disability Insurance and Workers’ Compensation. The maximum weekly benefits for TDI will be $489, and $696 for workers’ compensation. Employers are allowed to withhold up to $4.21 from an employee’s weekly wage for TDI contributions.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wages paid by private industry employers in March 2007 averaged $18.34 per hour worked (70.8 percent of total compensation), while benefits average $7.58 (29.2 percent). The last BLS report on employer costs for compensation for December 2006 showed an average $25.67 per hour worked. The average cost of health benefits was $1.83 per hour worked, or 7.1 percent of total compensation in March 2007. Health benefit costs have been steadily increasing as a percent of total compensation over the last 10 years, according to the report; and employer costs for health benefits were significantly higher for union workers (averaging $3.81 per hour) than for non-union workers (averaging $1.60 per hour). See Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—March 2007 for the full report.

The American Payroll Association has released the results of a survey it conducted during National Payroll Week in September. APA says based on over 45,000 responses, over 70 percent would find it difficult to meet their financial obligations if their paycheck were delayed for a week; that although almost 90 percent of the respondents say their company offers a 401(k) program, only 84 percent of that number actually participate in the program; and that a majority report that they do not participate in other benefits offered by their companies such as medical flexible spending accounts (almost 52 percent do not participate); health savings accounts (73 percent do not participate); or transportation reimbursement incentive programs (60 percent do not participate).

Over 88 percent of the respondents reported they were confident or somewhat confident that their employer adequately protects vital personal information such as employee salary/wage information, social security number, and direct deposit bank account numbers from data breaches/identity theft.

Members can obtain HEC’s handy one-page summary of the state tax rates/wage base, maximum weekly benefits, and other payroll information for Hawaii Workers’ Compensation, Temporary Disability Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance payments in 2008. The summary also includes information on Social Security tax rates, state and federal minimum wage, and mileage reimbursement. Employers are also reminded that due to an amendment this year of the Hawaii Employment Security Law, the taxable wage base has been changed: For calendar years 2008, 2009, and 2010 only, the term "wages" does not include remuneration in excess of $13,000 paid with respect to employment to an individual by an employer so long as the balance of the unemployment trust fund does not fall below the adequate reserve fund as specified by statute. This amount is a decrease from the 2007 taxable wage base amount of $35,300. See the Dept. of Labor & Industrial Relations contribution rate chart for more information.

Public and private employers spent an average of $1.25 for employee retirement and savings plans for every hour worked in June 2008, accounting for 4.4 percent of total compensation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Average costs in the private sector for retirement and savings benefits were 95 cents per hour worked, or 3.6 percent of total compensation.

Private industry employer compensation costs averaged $26.78 per hour worked in June 2008. Wages and salaries averaged $18.92 per hour (70.6 percent), while benefits averaged $7.86 (29.4 percent). Employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.78 per hour worked (6.7 percent), supplemental pay averaged 83 cents (3.1 percent), insurance benefits averaged $2.05 (7.7 percent), and legally required benefits averaged $2.24 (8.4 percent) per hour worked.

Compensation costs for nonunion workers rose 3.2 percent for the year ended September 2007, compared to the 2.0 percent increase for union workers in the same 12-month period, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures are from the Employment Cost Index, a component of the National Compensation Survey. Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.1 percent for the year ended September 2007, compared to 3.0 percent for the year ended September 2006. For state and local government workers, the increase was 4.3 percent for the same period in 2007, and 4.1 percent for the same period in 2006.

According to its recently released December 2006 figures, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wages and salaries for private employers averaged $18.11 per hour (70.5 percent of compensation), while benefits averaged $7.57 (29.5 percent). Legally required benefits—Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers compensation—averaged $2.20 per hour. Factoring in state and local government workers, the employer cost for compensation grew to $27.54 per hour worked, with benefits averaging $8.30 (30.1 percent) per hour. With the release of the December 2006 figures, BLS has added nursing care facilities and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations to its report for private sector workers by industry. See Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—December 2006 for the full report.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that private industry employer compensation costs averaged $26.76 per hour worked in March 2008. Wages and salaries averaged $18.91 per hour, accounting for 70.6 percent of the cost, while benefits averaged $7.86 (29.4 percent). The BLS report is based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and local government workers.

Private employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.80 per hour worked (6.7 percent), supplemental pay averaged 80 cents (3.0 percent), insurance benefits averaged $2.06 (7.7 percent), retirement and savings averaged 96 cents (3.6 percent), and legally required benefits— including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation, averaged $2.24 (8.4 percent) per hour worked.

According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private industry wages averaged $18.32 per hour, while benefits averaged $7.61 (29.4 percent of compensation) in June 2007. Employer costs for paid leave averaged $1.77 per hour worked (6.8 percent), insurance benefits averaged $1.97 (7.6 percent), and legally required benefits averaged $2.21 (8.5 percent). Average costs in private industry for retirement and savings benefits were 88 cents per hour worked, or 3.4 percent of total compensation.

Compensation costs for nonunion workers rose 3.2 percent for the year ended December 2007, compared to the 2.0 percent increase for union workers in the same 12-month period, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures are from the Employment Cost Index, a component of the National Compensation Survey. Wages and salaries for nonunion workers increased 3.5 percent compared to 2.3 percent for union workers for the year ended December 2007.

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.0 percent for the year ended December 2007, compared to 3.2 percent for the year ended December 2006. For state and local government, the comparable increase was 4.1 percent for December 2007, the same as the December 2006 increase.

Private industry employer wages and salaries averaged $18.42 per hour worked (70.6 percent of the total compensation), while benefits averaged $7.66 (29.4 percent) in September 2007,  reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its latest survey of public and private sector compensation costs.  The last BLS report on employer costs for compensation for March 2007 showed an average $25.91 per hour worked in the private sector, with wages averaging $18.34 per hour worked (70.8 percent), and benefits averaging $7.58 (29.2 percent).  See Employer Costs for Employee Compensation-September 2007 for the full report, which includes an industry and occupational breakdown of compensation costs. 

The maximum wage contribution for 2008 was increased to $102,000 from $97,500 for 2007, reports the Social Security Administration. The FICA tax for employees remains at 7.65 percent and for self-employed at 15.30 percent.

As more employees retire, with fewer workers entering the workforce, getting and keeping top performers has become a key challenge for a growing number of companies, according to a recently released Hewitt Associates study. Hewitt’s survey of 1,007 large organizations showed that 46 percent reported problems in attracting and retaining employees in 2007, up from 37 percent reporting the same problems last year. As a result, the study finds a sharp increase in employer adoption of variable pay programs. “While U.S. workers can expect to see only modest base pay increases in 2008, they have the potential to earn more than three times as much through performance-related awards,” Hewitt says. It projected that variable pay bonuses—performance-related rewards that must be re-earned each year—could increase salaries more than 12 percent next year. Hewitt Chart of Variable Pay Programs

According to a new survey by Watson Wyatt, more companies plan to offer financial incentives in the next two years to reward workers who adopt healthy lifestyles. Nearly half (46 percent) of the surveyed employers currently offer or plan to offer financial encouragement to workers who monitor and improve their health. By 2009, that number is expected to surpass 70 percent, Watson Wyatt reports. The survey also finds that companies with effective health and productivity programs demonstrate superior performance, achieving 20 percent more revenue per employee, with a 16.1 percent higher market value and deliver 57 percent higher shareholder returns.