Melissa A. Winn

The number of employers contributing to health savings accounts or health reimbursement arrangements continues to grow, with 71% of employees reporting contributions from their employers in 2013, according to a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Novant Health violated ERISA when it allowed its Retirement Plus Plan to pay millions of dollars in excessive fees to third-party service providers, including the plan’s broker, a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday by current and former Novant employees claims.

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.

Private industry employers spent, on average, $29.63 per hour worked for total employee compensation in December 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Wages and salaries averaged $20.76 per hour worked and accounted for 70.1% of that cost, while benefits averaged $8.87 and accounted for the remaining 29.9%.

The number of insurance agency mergers and acquisitions fell in 2013, with 248 reported transactions in the United States and Canada, down from a record 299 transactions in 2012, according to OPTIS Partners’ new semi-annual survey.

Rising health care costs are driving employers to audit their covered dependents to eliminate working spouses.

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.

The private and public exchanges offer employers an opportunity to help manage costs and provide personalized benefits, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution, industry experts say.

Are your clients prepared for a 401(k) plan audit? When the Employee Benefits Security Administration knocks on the door and starts requesting plan documents, financial records, account statements, contracts and more, it can be overwhelming. The best offense is a good defense, so be prepared. Take a glimpse into a recent audit and the laundry list of documents requested.

With guaranteed pension plans virtually a thing of the past, retirement saving is increasingly being thrust upon unprepared employees. That’s why 401(k) plan providers continue to innovate their offerings — employers and advisers looking for a competitive edge should take note.

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.

President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget proposal includes nearly $14 million for the Department of Labor to combat the misclassification of workers as independent contractors, which renders them ineligible for certain benefits and protections under the law.

Many employers are turning to private health care exchanges to rein in costs — and benefit consulting firms are reaping the benefits, according to a new report from Moody’s Investor Services.

The Obama administration last week said it will offer relief to consumers unable to purchase health insurance through state-run exchanges that have been hampered by technical difficulties.

Good news for baby-boomers! More employers are actively recruiting workers 50 and over; while fewer mature workers say they plan to put-off retirement, a CareerBuilder Survey shows.

The benefits industry is pushing back against a campaign by some policy-makers to increase federal oversight of self-insured health plans, particularly in regards to the purchasing of stop-loss insurance.

Employers are begging for information on compliance with the Affordable Care Act, and as their benefit adviser you can and should offer them guidance — or risk losing them to an adviser who will. Attorney Peter Marathas of Proskauer Rose LLP has outlined four ACA issues you should already be discussing with your clients.

At this week's Workplace Benefits Renaissance in Atlantic City, much buzz surrounded the changing industry landscape under the ACA, with most people agreeing benefit advisers looking to stake their claim on this new terrain need to focus less on brokering to confused employers and more on advising them.

As federal funding for state-run SHOP exchanges runs out in 2015, voluntary benefits may be the key to exchange sustainability, according to Ryan Howells, vice president and general manager of Connecture.

Lawmakers in Maryland and Wisconsin are working to make retirement plans more readily available to private sector employees. Their efforts follow recently enacted California legislation that requires employers to contribute 3% of a worker’s salary to a retirement account.