The current economic downturn and ongoing efforts to reduce costs are adding to the squeeze affecting benefits staffs, prompting benefit managers to turn often to consultants for core activities. ... More

Before 2006, New York-based Hess Corp.'s employees relied on a "pen and paper" system of signing up for and accessing their health and retirement benefits, according to the oil company's vp for global benefits, health ... More

J.M. "Jack" Towarnicky ... More

Benefit managers have several resources aside from consultants when it comes to researching and implementing employee benefits programs. ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Like the alter-egos of a character created by author James Thurber, who also hails from this Midwestern city, Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., is ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The funds that Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. employees invest in their 401(k) plan are a bit more "liquid" than is typical, thanks to adoption of what Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits ... More

Shifting to a consumer-driven health plan is never easy for employers and employees alike. ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Although Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.'s employees participate in the company's defined benefit pension plan, Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning, was concerned that a pension alone ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., keeps close tabs on changes in federal legislation, the tax code and Labor Department rules governing employee ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Long before the federal government and individual states enacted legislation defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning at ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—A series of aggressive health management programs initiated by Associate Vp Jack Towarnicky's Health Benefits Planning team have helped Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. keep its employee health ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—When it became clear that some Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. employees were abusing the company's generous paid time off program, Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning, decided to ... More

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Inertia can have a negative or a positive effect when it involves retirees selecting their health benefits, Jack Towarnicky, associate vp of benefits planning at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., has ... More

Five independent judges selected the 2008 Benefit Manager of the Year. The judges, who represent past honorees, benefit consultants and brokerages, review and score nominees on the basis of seven criteria. This year's ... More