Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
Why IBM ties base pay to skills, not business results
Investing heavily in AI prompted IBM to rethink performance management, evaluating workers not only on business results, but also skills development.
Courtney Vinopal is a senior reporter for HR Brew covering total rewards and compliance. Her reporting has appeared in a variety of print, broadcast, and digital outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, and Quartz. Prior to entering journalism, Courtney worked for the press office of the French Embassy in Washington.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
What benefits leaders should know about direct-to-consumer drug platform TrumpRx
President Donald Trump promised Americans they’ll “save a fortune” by buying drugs through TrumpRx, but it’s not clear workers with insurance will see meaningful savings.
Compliance
Legislative lowdown: PBMs must disclose pricing information to health plans, workers
Reforms recently passed by Congress require pharmacy benefit managers to disclose details about their pricing to health plans, as well as pass back any rebates.
Recruitment & Retention
US job openings dropped to the lowest level since 2020 in December
Tariffs, geopolitical tension, and high inflation are among the factors that may have prompted employers to pull back on hiring at the end of 2025.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
These companies plan to contribute to ‘Trump Accounts’ on behalf of their workers
JPMorgan, Intel, and Dell Technologies are among the employers that have committed to matching employee contributions to these savings accounts.
Compliance
Legislative lowdown: DOL proposes rule requiring pharmacy benefit manager transparency
The proposed rule, issued on Jan. 29, would require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to disclose information on compensation they receive from the pharmaceutical industry.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
HR Brew wants to hear about how your team makes the business case for benefits
HR teams are under increasing pressure to demonstrate a return-on-investment from benefits, but calculating it can be complicated.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
Walgreens is paying for its workers to pursue careers as pharmacists
The retail pharmacy recently expanded an educational benefit that seeks to address the pharmacist shortage.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
Employers look to expand leave benefits, but struggle to administer them
As the landscape for paid leave has become more complex, so too has compliance, said Alex Henry, WTW’s group benefits leader.
Total Rewards (Comp & Benefits)
Trump does an about-face on plan to let workers tap 401(k) savings for house payments
The president said he wasn’t “a huge fan” of a proposal that was floated to let employees use their 401(k) savings to buy homes.