Bruce Shutan

There's no denying that target-date funds are easy to understand and wildly popular with 401(k) plan participants, especially among new and inexperienced investors. But their performance has fallen considerably short in a still-fragile economy, as leading fund managers have pursued misguided strategies.

Semantics are supremely important in making or breaking certain lines of insurance.

Semantics are supremely important in making or breaking certain lines of insurance.

Everyday services that help strike a better work-life balance have become an increasingly valuable part of the benefits package - even if employees are the ones who pick up the tab. But what is the best way to deliver this assistance to the workplace to ensure satisfaction and boost program utilization?

There's a lot of strategic talk in Big Sky Country these days about the power of biometric screenings, health care analytics, value-based pharmacy benefit management, captives insurance and state-run health cooperatives under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Keys to dental plan success lie in contracting with right network, increasing provider population, carriers say.

Retirement plan participants who don’t own a long-term care insurance policy and instead choose to self-insure for any LTCI needs in the future run the risk of seeing their life savings decimated by major medical expenses, cautions Jonas Roeser, senior vice president of marketing and operations for LTC Financial Partners LLC.

A sluggish economy hasn't slowed the nation's health care consumerism movement, according to a recent analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Have HR and benefit professionals who work for midsize employers lost their hunger for cafeteria plans in austere times? It seems that the answer depends on semantics and plan design nuances.

Although benefits comprise 30% to 40% of an employee’s total compensation, they’re largely hidden from view, which can serve to undermine benefits appreciation.

Those who operate a retirement plan face significant potential liability and risk, cautions a new Lockton report.

Brokers and advisers may need to play a more strategic role in helping their clients navigate an expected convergence of health care reform and absence management that will add another layer of complexity to regulatory compliance in these areas.

The American Academy of Actuaries has recommended a number of policy options to strengthen and improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate clause, regardless of whether the landmark law’s controversial centerpiece is legally removed over time.

A new statewide survey by the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants is stirring debate about the extent to which insurance protocols serve as harmful barriers to patient care or necessary cost controls.

Most critical illness insurance policyholders are 55 or older; men buy higher coverage amounts than women; and claimants overwhelmingly seek benefits for cancer over all other conditions, suggests a new comprehensive study of more than 20,500 individual policies purchased last year.

The economy still may be stuck in neutral, but industry brokers, carriers and vendors are bullish about the future of voluntary benefits.

A March 17th hearing on the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act had more of a July 4th sensibility, with fireworks igniting before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

It was only a matter of time before several leading U.S. life insurers with business dealings in Japan felt reverberations from the devastating 9.0 earthquake on March 11, followed by a major tsunami and nuclear reactor leaks. While industry observers are still assessing the long-term financial impact of these events on Aflac, MetLife and The Hartford, disaster may have been averted on their balance sheets.

North Carolinians are just sick about health insurance, doctors, medical billing and collection practices, health products and services — more so than questionable loans and lending practices, Do Not Call list violations and telemarketing schemes.

A sluggish economy hasn’t slowed the nation’s health care consumerism movement, according to a recent analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.