Melissa A. Winn

CMS says benefit brokers and advisers are expected to be able to enroll their small business clients on the federal SHOP exchange online by sometime later this year.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced training and registration dates, along with requirements, for benefit advisers and brokers who want to enroll small business employers on the federally facilitated SHOP exchange.

Benefit insiders predict a steep decline in small business group health insurance sales in the coming years, which could prove harmful for many independent brokers and agents.

The IRS this month clarified for benefit advisers and their clients that employers cannot escape ACA penalties and taxes via pre-tax premium reimbursement plans.

With interest rates near record lows, employers are increasingly seeking new retirement investment options for their employee participants. Advisers should be prepared to discuss absolute return assets, industry experts say.

With lack of information and resources deterring most of the uninsured who did not enroll for coverage on the exchanges in 2014, advisers are poised to play a pivotal role in 2015.

While pension cash outs for former employees are sometimes attractive to employers, several common concerns otherwise deter them from the option.

UBA’s chief executive officer Thomas Mangan has left his position with the industry group to serve as president of employee benefits for the Market Financial Group.

The life insurance and annuities market continues to grow, but advisers hoping to capitalize on that will first need to meet the challenges of a diversifying U.S. population.

Individuals could pay more than twice as much for prescription drugs with certain exchange plans, as employers that provide health coverage gain another asset to leverage.

Den Bishop had a vision for a new wellness solution, one that focused on the true cost enemy — disease. That vision became ACAP Health.

Supplemental benefit SurgeryPlus is a new product offering for advisers, especially those who work with self-funded clients.

A handful of letters from trade groups and the Chamber of Commerce reject as “premature and imprudent” the DOL’s proposal to require retirement plan service providers supply guides to fee disclosures.

High first quarter profitability means benefit agents and brokers could see a record-breaking year in 2014, including bigger bonuses from carriers.

An increasingly discussed abandonment of the ever-delayed portion of the ACA would not eliminate your employer clients’ need to comply with the health law.

The Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act has lasting implications on employee benefits that employers may be asking advisers about soon if they haven’t already.

A lesser known fact about outcome-based wellness programs can help advisers bring their clients’ programs into HIPAA compliance.

Employers remain unclear about the benefits and drawbacks of switching their health plans to a private exchange, but the majority of those that will evaluate exchange vendors in the future plan to seek guidance from a benefit adviser.

American workers are increasingly satisfied with their retirement plans and interested in investing in them, a trend advisers and employers use in their favor.

Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions signal a need for benefit advisers to review clients’ plan documents and ensure they include thorough enforceable terms.