Does employee benefit administration have you more confused than ever? Even a simple employee benefit plan can create mounds of paperwork and management problems for businesses.

Employee benefits include health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.

Many employees covered by health insurance plans can continue to get health benefits for a limited time after their job ends under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

Do you have an IRA, 401k, 403b, Defined Benefits plan or similar retirement plan? Many of us do, but many of us do not pay much attention to it. We only think of it increasing as we put more into it and our employers put matching funds. We often do not look at our statements, especially because most are confusing with the varied stocks and mutual funds allocated in one plan. Some of us pay an adviser to pick and chose in which stocks and mutual funds to invest with our IRA or 401k, etc.

When looking towards retirement many people just think about the joy of not having to work anymore. Unfortunately, even though a person retires they still have bills to pay, and they need to carefully plan for retirement.

For many people the quickest way for them to access an emergency loan quickly is to tap their credit cards, or their retirement account. But these methods have their drawbacks. Credit cards generally carry high double digit interest rates and wicked fees. On the other hand, early withdrawals from an IRA or 401K can trigger tax and penalties of up to 45% of the money withdrawn.

The recent state of the economy, combined with the increasing cost of healthcare, has made it difficult for all size employers to continue to offer the same level of employee benefits. In the case of health insurance, future plan modifications may be necessary over the next few years.

Newly released IRS regulations impose several new requirementsand fiduciary responsibilities on employers with 403(b) plans.While the regulations generally don't take effect until January1, 2009, there are some provisions that apply sooner.

Given recent events, many employees are concerned as to what would happen to their 401(k) dollars if their company were to go bankrupt, out-of-business, or merged with another firm. In this case, retirement plan security plays a very important role in employee finances.

Banks are putting the squeeze on even their best long term card holders at a time when other sources of credit, such as home equity loans for example, are harder to come by. A lot of people are shocked to receive notices that their credit card rate has jumped to as high as 28 percent even though they've kept good credit and an excellent payment history.

A bankruptcy or foreclosure can cripple one's ability to obtain decent credit for many years. In addition, some employers and landlords won't hire or rent to a candidate with terrible credit history. Thus, it is a good idea to discuss all options with a financial planner before ending in bankruptcy or foreclosure.

Workers' compensation disability is a set of benefits paid to employees who are injured on the job and can no longer work. There are four types of workers' compensation disability: temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability, and permanent total disability.