Healthcare

U.S. companies hired more workers than expected in July, but continued weakness in the manufacturing sector pointed to sluggish economic growth.

Consumer awareness of bank-sold life insurance has improved, and much of this improvement can be credited to generations X and Y, according to a report from LIMRA. The periodic report, "Bank on It! Opportunities With Today's Bank Customer,” found the majority of generations X and Y would consider buying life insurance policy from their bank—significantly higher than members of the older baby boomer and silent generations, where only about a third of these consumers say they would consider it.

Health Savings Accounts are estimated to have grown to more than $14.1 billion in assets through June 30, representing 7.1 million accounts, according to a survey and research report by Devenir, a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser based in Minneapolis.

Ask a roomful of HR leaders to name their biggest stressors and some interesting answers float up – sometimes literally. A new social experiment by Impact Group suggests that, as the economy recovers, these practitioners are engaging in some big-picture thinking, and their worries may only be ballooning.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) poses both a moral and business dilemma for worksite wellness programs, but a leading authority suggests that it can be overcome with careful thought and the right strategy in place.

Now that heath reform remains intact, it's official: compliance waivers on expense-incurred medical plans are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2013 - which will result in millions of uninsured hourly and part-time employees looking for new avenues of health care coverage.

Intending to combat the cost of absenteeism, workplace disruptions or a significant change in productivity due to an employee with child or elder care worries, employers are starting to offer Care.com's Workplace Solutions as an employee benefit. Distributable through brokers, the online platform and consulting service helps families find every day, back-up and occasional care across the U.S.

The primary cause of stress, points out James Werner, CEO of Wealth Habit, is finances. With the average employer spending just under 9% of payroll on extended disability absences - most of which are related to stress - Werner believes an increased focus on financial wellness in the workplace has the potential to not only help employees save, but also save their employers "hundreds of thousands, or even billions, of dollars a year."

Private enterprise is limbering up for the 2012 EBN-EBA Financial Fitness Challenge, an online financial-education program sponsored by Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit Adviser in partnership with Educated Investor, a provider of financial education products. Organizations of all types and sizes, from Walmart to Woodchuck Hard Cider, are taking part in the Challenge, which began last month.

The 1988 Paralympic Games in South Korea changed my outlook on disability - and ultimately helped shift the focus of my group benefits career to disability income insurance and instilled a strong belief in an advocacy-based approach.