Voluntary

Although U.S. workers on a whole are more satisfied with their current financial situation than in years past, most (58%) remain concerned about financial stability in retirement and say they plan to continue working until age 70 or later, a new Towers Watson survey shows.

Voluntary benefit sales are enjoying rapid growth as employers prepare for the impact of the Affordable Care Act by revamping their medical plan designs to include more products such as accident and critical illness benefits.

While it’s difficult to discuss your eventual death with those you love, it’s imperative to plan for it, not only for your sake, but for theirs. Employers can offer several voluntary benefits to help make this end-of-life planning and transition easier for their employees and the loved ones they leave behind.

Besides death and dismemberment benefits, policies typically provide medical payments, temporary disability payments, and coverage for costs associated with repatriating employees from foreign soil.

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.

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.

While most people understand the need for medical and dental insurance, the value of voluntary benefits is less understood. That’s why advisers should be selling them as “financial protection,” says one voluntary sales expert.

Employees who experienced negative interactions with their manager had a decreased sense of connection with their employer – and were less motivated to return to work following a disability.

Millennials' lower net worth, combined with a mindset that a disabling condition will never happen to them, makes them ideal candidates for disability insurance.

A new workplace campaign from Employers' Coalition and the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health aims to help employers reduce the stigma of depression and help avoid costly disability claims.