Wellness Platform Offers Programs from Multiple Vendors

Products from third-party health and well-being vendors are combined on a central space to give employees personalized recommendations.

ShapeUp, a provider of global wellbeing solutions, has expanded its holistic offering to include products and programs from innovative, specialized partners that are fully integrated into its well-being platform, ShapeUp Select, a curated cohort of wellness providers. Employers and their employees can choose from an extensive menu to design a robust well-being strategy.

The ShapeUp Select partner system has products from third-party vendors that are integrated into the firm’s Wellbeing Hub, a central space for employees to receive personalized recommendations, enroll in programs, earn rewards, and connect with colleagues working towards similar health goals.

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Wellness Corporate Solutions delivers technology-centric biometrics screenings that help employees gain insights about their current health status. The company also offers professional on-site, telephonic, and video health coaching programs.

A digital coaching program, meQuilibrium, offers a program that helps employees build resilience and manage stress, whether from family, work or money.

Zipongo provides a nutrition program that makes healthy eating easy and accessible with tools that make it easy to eat well and  make better food choices on a daily basis.

Claritas Mindsciences offers evidence-based digital programs for smoking cessation (Craving to Quit) and healthy eating (Eat Right: NOW!).

Benefits administrators use the platform to add new well-being programs to their employee offering. Marketing and implementation are also simpler, as employees sign into a single portal and interact with all programs from a personalized recommendation page.

More information is at ShapeUp Select’s website.  

Pension Funded Status Up After Strong October

U.S. defined benefit plans saw an improvement in funded status in October.

The aggregate pension funded status for S&P 500 firms rose in October, from 78.7% to 80.8%, according to the Aon Hewitt Pension Risk Tracker. Year to date, the funded status deficit has increased by $3 billion.

Month-to-date pension asset returns were strong throughout October, yielding a 3.6% return. The month-end 10-year Treasury rate increased 10 basis points relative to September’s month-end rate, while credit spreads narrowed by 14 basis points. This combination resulted in a decrease in the interest rates used to value pension liabilities from 4.15% to 4.11% over the month. Given that a majority of U.S. plans are still exposed to interest rate risk, the decreasing rates that increased the pension liability marginally counteracted the positive effects from asset returns on the funded status of the plan. 

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Year to date, the aggregate funded ratio decreased, from 81.3% to 80.8%. According to Aon Hewitt’s estimates, this change was driven by a liability reduction of $67 billion, which outpaced the asset reduction of $64 billion year to date.

“While the funded status of U.S. pension plans continues to improve, the recently passed Balanced Budget Act of 2015 provides additional funding flexibility in future years, presenting a prime opportunity for sponsors to review their funding strategies,” says Ari Jacobs, senior partner and global retirement solutions leader at Aon Hewitt. “Despite the improving funded position of U.S. pension plans, the Act also increases PBGC premiums. These increases should be taken into account as plan sponsors review the strategic alternatives around their pension plans.”

The Aon Hewitt Pension Risk Tracker tracks the daily funded status of 360 S&P 500 companies with defined benefit pension plans.

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