The absence of a cost of living adjustment in Social Security payments for 2010 means no increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to taxation as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amounts, according to the Social Security Administration.

The SSA ( Categories : Wages and Benefits )

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The majority of U.S. Read more

Mercer has compiled “10 for 2010,” a list of 10 action items that companies should take this year to enhance the prospects of success in 2010. Read more

The number of employers planning to reverse salary cuts and freezes and restore matching contributions to 401(k) plans has increased in the past two months, according to a recent Watson Wyatt survey update of 175 large employers. Read more

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 1.5 percent for the 12-month period ending June 2009, representing the smallest percent change published for the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s employment cost series since 1980.

BLS says that the wage and salary cost increases and the benefit cost increases were the smallest published in the history of both data series. Read more

The average cost for health insurance benefits was $2.00 per hour worked in private industry compared to $1.03 per hour worked in March 1999, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

In March 2009, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.46 per hour worked. Read more

Severance packages for most affected employees at large U.S. companies have remained unchanged, according to a new Hewitt survey. Read more

Many U.S. companies are cutting back on the annual bonuses and long-term incentives for top executives, according to a new Watson Wyatt survey. The survey was conducted this month and includes responses from 264 companies across a variety of industries.
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The Internal Revenue Service has issued a guidance under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 which further restricts deductions that can be made for executive compensation and severance payments.
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In the largest percent increase since 1982, the Social Security Administration says that the monthly payments to benefit recipients will go up 5.8 percent in 2009. The taxable maximum wage base will increase from $102,000 to $106,800, meaning that about 11 million workers will pay higher taxes as a result.
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The American Payroll Association has released the results of a survey it conducted during National Payroll Week in September. Read more

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. Read more

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that private industry employer compensation costs averaged $26.76 per hour worked in March 2008. Read more

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. Read more

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 h Read more