Healthcare

Commentary: It’s not too late to set up a 2013 retirement plan. It may not be flexible, but it is available for those seeking last-minute savings.

Commentary: You don’t need to be one of the world’s best writers to communicate effectively with clients about their retirement needs.

Commentary: Online enrollment that gets participation in voluntary benefits as good as or better than one-on-one enrollment meetings at the worksite — while letting brokers keep twice as much of the voluntary commission. Is it possible? Columnist Nelson Griswold explains.

Benefits and risk management consulting firm Laurus Strategies launches a private exchange consulting practice to help employers identify vendors and determine the feasibility of moving to a private exchange.

A panel including a security specialist and FTC privacy staffer talked Monday at an American Payroll Association meeting about common mistakes employers make with their employees’ personal data and what the right make-up of a privacy team at a company should look like.

The percentage of Americans who currently obtain health insurance coverage through their employers continues to drop, indicating an ongoing trend among benefit plan sponsors and HR decision-makers to shift costs to public and private exchanges.

The private and public exchanges offer employers an opportunity to help manage costs and provide personalized benefits, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution, industry experts say.

Fidelity Investments has concocted a new educational product suite – to be available on your nearby desktop computer – that will ease the burden that faces both defined contribution plan sponsors as well as plan participants in managing future saving needs.

Galen Institute’s Grace-Marie Turner talked conservatives’ view of both employers and brokers at a recent Washington policy conference on health reform alternatives. She shares her conclusions on the Affordable Care Act, next steps on broker compensation, and more.

By bundling all costs for the surgery under one negotiated price and offering expertise that lowers the odds of complications, the Cleveland Clinic can give employers a better deal than some hospitals closer to employees' homes.