Advisers Latest

Commentary: As open enrollment season moves into full swing, columnist John Ludwig turns your focus to financial wellness, a growing concern for employers.

Commentary: Is your agency ready for 2015? Columnist Nelson Griswold shows how an in-depth analysis of a firm's strengths and weaknesses can help set goals for the new year.

One-third of business owners have no plan to control health care costs, however, most plan to handle their benefits strategies on their own, study finds.

The wisdom of offering 401(k) loans has long been debated, with some arguing that allowing them is an incentive for employees to participate in the plan, while others believe they do more harm than good since employees often reduce or stop saving in their 401(k) plan after taking a loan from it.

The Affordable Care Act’s inclusion of pediatric dental coverage as an essential health benefit has small employers facing a dilemma: Whether to embed dental coverage within a medical plan or offer dental benefits as a stand-alone plan. Market confusion about what these plan options include and exactly what the health reform law requires highlights the need for expert benefit adviser help.

As an effort to comply with the ACA, some employers have been considering offering employees a lump sum of cash to purchase health care coverage on the exchanges, but the DOL now says such an arrangement isn't going to cut it.

Preparing Americans for retirement is at the forefront of priorities for lawmakers and industry, as putting off saving for retirement for even a few years will woefully shortchange employees in their golden years.

Commentary: Individuals and small businesses in NY can't get quality health coverage, and New Yorkers should exercise caution when considering moving to a single-payer system.

Delays, limited awareness, competition and insufficient subsidies among problems outlined in a Government Accountability Office report on state and federal small group exchanges. CMS says brokers will play a key role in any future growth.

Focusing on quality of care, data analytics tools and consumer-oriented websites are innovations discussed at National Business Coalition on Health conference.