MHRM 6601 Week 5 EAP and Health Premium Brief Example

Benefits, Compensation, and Resource Allocation Walden University Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

This MHRM 6601 Week 5 benefits brief example answers a credit union finance committee asking whether to drop an employee assistance program almost nobody uses and whether to cut the employer share of health premiums every employee sees. Walden MHRM 6601 asks students to weigh benefits on cost and value, so a single table sets the two side by side: about $5,800 a year against about $2.6 million. The brief argues that low use is not low value, drawing on Joseph and colleagues' review, and that a premium cut saving about $180,000 would cost a teller with family coverage about 3 percent of pay, undoing the market adjustment. KFF's 2025 family premium of $26,993 is the benchmark. A section sets out the ERISA disclosure steps required before either change, and the brief recommends keeping and promoting the program while holding the premium share, for the MS in Human Resource Management.

CourseMHRM 6601 Benefits, Compensation, and Resource Allocation
WeekWeek 5
Paper typeBenefits brief
LengthAbout 600 words, 5 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolWalden University
ProgramMS in Human Resource Management
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for MHRM 6601 Week 5

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The Benefit Nobody Uses and the Cost Everyone Sees: A Benefits Brief for Stone Arch's Finance Committee on the Employee Assistance Program, the Health Premium and What ERISA Requires Before Either Changes

Student Name

Walden University

MHRM 6601: Benefits, Compensation, and Resource Allocation

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title contrasts the two benefits and names the legal step that comes before any change.
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The Benefit Nobody Uses and the Cost Everyone Sees: A Benefits Brief for Stone Arch's Finance Committee on the Employee Assistance Program, the Health Premium and What ERISA Requires Before Either Changes

The Question

The finance committee at Stone Arch, the Minnesota credit union in this course's composite case, has asked two related questions. Should the employee assistance program, which almost nobody uses, be dropped? And can the credit union reduce what it pays toward health premiums, which every employee sees on every paycheck? This brief compares the two on cost and on value to the people covered, then sets out what federal benefits law requires before either changes.

What this page is doingThe brief states the committee's question in its terms before any figures.
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Cost and Value Side by Side

Table 1

Employee Assistance Program Versus Health Premium Contribution

MeasureEmployee assistance programHealth premium contribution |
Annual cost to Stone ArchAbout $5,800About $2.6 million |
Share of total benefits spendingUnder 0.2 percentAbout 70 percent |
Employees who used it last year4, about 2 percent190 enrolled, about 83 percent |
What employees seeNothing, unless they callThe employee share on every paycheck |
Value to a userUp to six free counseling sessions, legal and financial referralsMedical coverage for the employee and dependents |

Composite organization; use figures are the vendor's annual report.

What this page is doingOne table places the two benefits on the same measures, so their very different scales are visible.
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The Assistance Program

The program's low use is not evidence of low value. Four employees used it last year, and use is usually low because people do not know the program exists or doubt it is confidential. Joseph et al. (2018) reviewed studies of employee assistance programs and found modest evidence of improvement in mental health and work functioning among users, though study quality was mixed. At under $6,000 a year, the program costs less than replacing one teller. Dropping it would save almost nothing and remove the only confidential help available to an employee in crisis. The better question is whether more employees should know about it: a single reminder at open enrollment and in manager training would cost nothing.

The Health Premium

Stone Arch pays 80 percent of single coverage and 70 percent of family coverage. Its family premium is close to the national average for employer coverage, which reached $26,993 in 2025, 6 percent above the year before (KFF, 2025). Reducing the credit union's share by 5 percentage points would save about $180,000 a year, but every enrolled employee would see a smaller paycheck. For a teller in a family plan, the increase would be about $1,350 a year, roughly 3 percent of pay, which would undo most of a year's raise. Given the Week 3 finding that tellers are already paid 9 percent below market, a premium shift would widen the gap the structure is meant to close.

What Federal Law Requires Before a Change

Both benefits are welfare plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.), so the credit union must follow its disclosure rules. The plan document must be formally amended. Employees must receive a summary of the change; if it is a material reduction in covered services or benefits, such as a smaller employer share, the summary is generally due within 60 days of adoption (29 C.F.R. § 2520.104b-3). Changes made other than at renewal may also require earlier advance notice under the separate rules for the summary of benefits and coverage. Benefits counsel should review any change before it is announced.

What this page is doingLegal steps are listed in plain terms; the brief does not offer legal advice.
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Recommendation

Keep the assistance program and promote it. Hold the employer premium share steady for 2027 while the pay structure is implemented, and revisit the plan design, rather than the contribution, at the next renewal.

References

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.

Joseph, B., Walker, A., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2018). Evaluating the effectiveness of employee assistance programmes: A systematic review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1374245

KFF. (2025). 2025 employer health benefits survey. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/2025-employer-health-benefits-survey/

Reporting and disclosure by plan administrators, 29 C.F.R. § 2520.104b-3.

What the MHRM 6601 Week 5 instructions ask for

Week 5 asks you to evaluate benefits for decision makers. State their question in their terms first. Compare the benefits on the same measures, including cost, use and value to the people covered, preferably in one table. Do not treat low use as proof of low value; ask why use is low. Show what a change would mean for a typical employee, not only for the budget. Connect benefit decisions to earlier pay decisions where they interact. Explain in plain language what benefits law requires before a change, and recommend a course of action without offering legal advice. Keep the brief to two pages; a finance committee reads tables before paragraphs, so let the comparison table carry the main contrast.

How this MHRM 6601 Week 5 example is built

The brief opens with the committee's two questions. A table compares the assistance program and the premium contribution on cost, share of spending, use, visibility and value. A section explains low use and cites Joseph and colleagues on modest benefits for users, suggesting promotion instead of removal. A section prices a 5-point premium shift, translates it into a teller's paycheck and links it to the teller pay gap from Week 3, citing KFF for the national premium. A legal section lists the plan amendment, the 60-day summary for material reductions and the separate notice rules. A short recommendation closes the brief. The brief keeps its legal section short and plain, and it ends by recommending review by benefits counsel before anything is announced.

Where the marks sit in the MHRM 6601 Week 5 rubric

Benefits briefs are graded on balanced analysis and clear advice. Comparing benefits on common measures shows analytical discipline. Questioning why a benefit is underused, rather than cutting it, demonstrates insight. Translating a budget saving into its effect on an employee's pay is weighted heavily because it reveals the true trade-off. Linking benefits to pay strategy shows integrated thinking. An accurate, plain summary of disclosure requirements earns credit, as does advising review by counsel. Recommendations should follow from the evidence. Briefs that recommend cuts on cost alone, or that misstate legal requirements, lose credit.

MHRM 6601 Week 5 help from the desk

Write down the decision makers' question exactly. List the benefits involved and find their annual cost, how many employees use each and what each provides. Put these in a table. For any benefit with low use, ask whether employees know it exists and trust it. For any cost-sharing change, pick a typical employee and calculate what they would pay. Check how the change interacts with any recent pay decisions. Then note the disclosure steps the law requires and recommend involving benefits counsel. Many briefs look only at the employer's savings. If you are weighing a benefits change, tell us the figures and we can help frame it. Two pages is usually right for a committee brief.

Get a MHRM 6601 Week 5 example written to your instructions

Send the benefits brief prompt and rubric, and name the two benefits your scenario sets against each other if they differ from these. A brief pricing both, weighing their value and marking the ERISA duties that apply, is ready in 24 to 48 hours, with the first brief free. Its figures are illustrative, invented for a credit union that does not exist.

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MHRM 6601 Week 5 questions, answered

Where can I find a free MHRM 6601 Week 5 sample paper?

Read the benefits brief and its comparison table below, free.

What two benefits does the MHRM 6601 Week 5 brief compare?

An employee assistance program costing about $5,800 a year and a health premium contribution of about $2.6 million.

Why not drop the assistance program?

It costs little, low use may reflect low awareness, and research finds modest benefits for users.

What would a premium cut cost a teller?

About $1,350 a year for family coverage, roughly 3 percent of pay.

What notice does a material reduction require?

A summary generally due within 60 days of adoption under ERISA's disclosure rules.