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Whaddaya know? All this time, I thought it was just retirement plan participants who didn’t understand the fees they were paying. Turns out, according to a recent Spectrem Group study, plan sponsors don’t understand plan fees all that well either — only 45% of plan sponsors fully understand their retirement plan fees, according to the report that evaluated some 600 plan sponsors with assets under management of $10 million to $200 million.
September 15
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The need for additional Life Insurance for today’s working Americans is compelling. Consider the following from the front cover of USA Today on Dec. 3, 2010: “Millions of Families Missing Safety Net.” “The percentage of U.S. households with Life Insurance is at its lowest in 50 years.” “Only 44% of households have an individual life insurance policy.”
September 13 -
Well, its been quite an interesting renewal/marketing season already, hasnt it? Trend factors are lower than theyve been in years. Some carriers are out there offering premium holidays for new clients who sign up before January 1. And whens the last time you saw a carrier offer a double-digit rate decrease right out of the chute?
September 12 -
One of the first (and most popular) changes brought on by health care reform was the mandatory extension of health plan eligibility to adult children up to age 26 regardless of student status or dependence upon the employee. Most people predicted that the rate of ineligible dependents would decrease after this provision took effect. Based upon a study my firm recently completed, comparing similar populations before and after the implementation of this provision, we can
September 8 -
When I say Bernie Madoff, what do you say? Without more than a second, you might generate sinister synonyms such as thief, crook, con-man, or man with no ethics. The list could go on and on. And as we all know, the sad fact is that the damage Madoff inflicted was not just monetary. He also crushed the publics opinion of the advisery community. Those of us in his wake have been given the task of
September 6 -
In part two of a two-part blog series Robert Winslow, principal of Elm Street Partners, continues his blog about some of the opportunity that the new health care legislation has brought apart. Supplemental Coverages. PPACA accelerates a market change that has been evolving for some time, one that sees real business growth from supplemental coverages versus the base health plan. Supplemental products have come a long way in recent years, both by voluntary carriers and
September 1 -
In part one of a two-part blog series Robert Winslow, principal of Elm Street Partners, blogs about some of the opportunity that the new health care legislation has brought upon. Do you agree with Winslow that there is an opportunity in all the changes? While its been nearly a year and a half since passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Im frankly amazed at how many people still seem caught in
August 30 -
The "eagerly-awaited" guidelines regarding the uniform summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) required by Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have finally been released. Comments are being invited until Oct. 21, 2011, with implementation anticipated by March 23, 2012, the two-year anniversary of PPACA's passage. This is not just the first step in the direction of increasing uniformity in the structure and communication of benefit plans.
August 29 -
Historically, the retirement industry hasnt been required to publish all fees and expenses associated with 401(k) products. Thats about to change. The Labor Department noticed that the majority of 401(k) plan sponsors are in the dark regarding the fees theyre paying. To add insult to injury, most are under the impression that their plan is free.
August 25 -
In a follow-up post, Steve Kloyda talks further about the art of prospecting. Do you agree with his thoughts? Your success in sales starts and ends with prospecting Skeptics say that prospecting is dead. It’s not. And it never will be. The decision to prospect is yours alone. Yes, the old way of selling has changed, but prospecting continues to be the foundation of all successful businesses and salespeople. So what is prospecting?
August 23