Nick Otto

When it comes to robust retirement systems around the globe, the U.S. is ranked 19 of 150 different countries, and American business – from lawmakers to employers and plan sponsors – can learn from some of those international success stories.

With a still-recovering economy, weakened retirement plan offerings and the uncertainly of supplemental income in retirement, many workers are opting to stay put, adding unforeseen burdens to employers.

While overall confidence in senior leadership is on the rise, employers still have room for expanding leadership development programs. One expert advises on aligning the future needs from leadership with the day-to-day activities now.

As the holidays move into full gear, what should be the most wonderful time of the year is often not that way for many employees. During this potentially overwhelming season, it is important that employees have access to help.

In anticipation of the 2015 tax season, TurboTax is enabling imports of the 1095-A forms, one of the many new tax forms associated with the Affordable Care Act.

Employers are taking a more engaging and firm approach to making sure employees take retirement saving seriously, making use of automatic enrollment and escalation, as well as personalized tools. And both employers and retirement plan providers are noting changes in the savings attitudes of employees.

Employers looking to amplify their employees’ retirement prospects might look to the growing individual retirement account field, as involvement in employer-sponsored retirement plans remains largely unchanged.

Preparing Americans for retirement is at the forefront of priorities for lawmakers and industry, as putting off saving for retirement for even a few years will woefully shortchange employees in their golden years.

Rather than ignoring emails, employees may be more inclined to remember to take part in health offerings such as immunization clinics if notices are sent out via text messages - given our text-obsessed culture.

Depression in the workplace can affect anyone and it takes an emotional toll on those affected, and can also have a significant financial toll on employers. A new program developed by the American Psychiatric Foundation and Employers Health Coalition aims to provide both employers and employees with the tools needed to help combat depression in the workplace.

If employers only look at wellness from a 9-to-5 point of view, they are missing valuable opportunities to engage employees. Wellness doesn’t end at 5 p.m., said one expert at the National Business Coalition on Health’s annual conference.

As the retirement system steadily moves away from guaranteed pensions to more individualized retirement accounts, longevity annuities are adding to the financial security of retirees.

Performance-based, full-value shares are becoming the norm in executive compensation as companies still feel the sting from market volatility in 2008.

It was anticipated. It happened. The Republicans have taken control of the Senate. So what can benefits managers tell employees who are concerned of possible changes surrounding the Affordable Care Act?

Engaging your Gen Y audience — also known as the millennials — can be difficult, but it’s key to implementing strategies on wellness and retirement programs that they might not be thinking about now, but will wish they had in the future.

U.S. parents are more and more finding themselves providing financial support to adult children, undermining their readiness to successfully put enough away for retirement.

For the third time in recent months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has launched legal action against a private employer, claiming discrimination on the part of the company’s wellness program.

The number of employees participating in employer-based retirement plans increased in 2013 for the first time in several years, pointing to a national economy slowly mending itself and an increasing employment rate in the aftermath of the recession, the Employee Benefit Research Institute says.

Alongside the IRS’ announcement last week to increase contribution caps to 401(k) plans, the Department of Labor issued guidance that will ease plan sponsors’ abilities to offer annuities as part of their retirement plans.

One would expect technology companies such as Google and Twitter to be at the forefront of using electronic signatures when recruiting talent. But increasingly, other industries are realizing the potential time and cost savings of using esignatures to increase hiring efficiency.