Marli D. Riggs

As the Supreme Court wraps up oral arguments on the core of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — the minimum coverage provision that will address the individual mandate — brokers express their concern surrounding health reform and how they are preparing clients for the future with or without it.

Employee benefit brokers and advisers are paying close attention to the proceedings as the Supreme Court takes up an historic test of whether health reform is valid under the country's Constitution.

Although hundreds of financial advisers, consultants, fiduciaries, IRA experts and record keepers gathered in the ‘Big Easy,’ event goers can agree that fee disclosures and regulations are anything but simple when it comes to the retirement industry.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Monday praised the Department of Health and Human Services for acknowledging in its final rule “the significant role agents will play in the state health care exchanges.”

Almost half of men and 46% of women who purchased individual critical illness insurance policies in 2011 were younger than age 45, according to a recent survey.

Workplace retirement plan investors who use target-date funds feel more secure about reaching their goals and managing their portfolios than those who did not, a recent study from ING finds.

More than a third of Americans say they most trust financial advisers to better understand retirement issues, according to a new survey.

When American workers engage in healthy habits offered in consumer-driven health plans, they can lower their total medical costs an average of $9,700 per employee over a five-year period, according to a recent study.

A growing number of younger participants in 401(k) retirement plans are investing in target-date funds, according to a recent analysis. Using data from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that the percentage of recently hired 401(k) participants with two or fewer years of tenure holding TDFs jumped from 43.6% in 2008 to 46.6% in 2009 increasing slightly to 47.6% in 2010. …

The cost of health care for individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% in the third quarter of 2011 versus the third quarter of 2010, and 0.9% versus the second quarter of 2011, new data reveal.

Almost all employees who participate in one-on-one benefits counseling sessions during enrollment say they have a greater understanding of their employer-sponsored benefits.

A Senate bill introduced Friday as a companion to legislation in the House that would exclude agent compensation from the Medical Loss Ratio formula has industry organizations optimistic about a permanent fix.

Employer-sponsored plans — especially 401(k)s — help employees at the lower end of the wage scale to save.

With tuition costs on the rise, employees looking for ways to pay for their children's college education can save with 529 plans, a tax-advantaged savings plan that encourages parents or guardians to save for a child's college education. Phil Chandler, a financial adviser for Edward Jones, says the tax-free gains feature is the primary driving force behind the popularity of 529s. Previous products did not allow this aspect to be used for higher education.

Not only is it painful for an employee to hear the news that their loved one has suffered a heart attack, but the unforeseen costs of health care will soon take a physical, emotional and financial toll if they are not prepared.

Employees around the country are in need of direct, simple guidance to help them reach their retirement goals, according to a survey released by State Street Global Advisors.

On the last day of the National Association of Health Underwriters’ 2012 Capitol Conference hundreds of attendees received exciting industry news that made the ballroom erupt with a roar of applause and cheers.

Only 25% of plan sponsors with 100 or more employees and plan assets between $5 million and $500 million partner with a professional adviser, according to a recent report from The Retirement Advisor Council. The study demonstra

If the health care law is implemented without the individual mandate insurance premiums would rise by as much as 25%, according to a new report by the Urban Institute Health Policy.

The majority (56%) of employers say they are likely to continue to offer employer-sponsored health insurance after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act largely goes into effect in 2014, according to a new survey conducted by GfK Custom Research North America.