Richard Stolz

While it’s widely assumed that defined benefit plans provide better retirement benefits than defined contribution plans that might not always the case.

Employees may express interest in annuities, yet few retirement plan sponsors are rushing to offer them within their 401(k) plans.

With the cost of pharmaceuticals consuming an ever-increasing proportion of health benefit expenditures, many employers are responding by adding pricing tiers to their drug plan designs.

The IRS continues to seek industry input on the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans.

What would you do differently if you could recreate your voluntary benefits program from scratch?

Employers offering high deductible plans – particularly those who have gone the full replacement route – still need to beef up their educational efforts.

Employers are becoming more proactive in asking hospitals to participate in The Leapfrog Group’s surveys.

A healthy if not spectacular jobs report from the Department of Labor supports mid-market employer plans to bolster training programs to keep employees from jumping ship.

There are more ways for defined contribution plan participants to gain access to professional investment management than by defaulting them into target-date funds or using a separately managed account.

What kind of employee takes advantage of the chance to select from potentially thousands of investment options available through a 401(k) brokerage account?

Known as Explanation No 9, the document is to be used in conjunction with Form 8387, Worksheet 9 – Determination of Qualification and Form 8399, Deficiency Checksheet 9.

Employers in the 51-100 employee size bracket are anxious about the prospect of being added to the “small group” market that under the Affordable Care Act currently cuts off at 50 employees (unless states opt to raise it).

Employee recognition programs may not be doing enough to help employers overcome their retention and turnover challenges.

Employers expect the new rules to ‘fundamentally change’ the way they approach executive pay disclosures.

High deductible health plan sponsors, as well as employers considering making that switch, should review their employees’ health care purchasing patterns and their communication campaigns to encourage appropriate use of the plans.

As participants age and their retirement investment requirements become less easily satisfied by cookie-cutter target date funds, the use of managed accounts as qualified default investment alternatives in 401(k) plans may grow.

Vision and dental benefits can be harnessed to play a larger role in employee health than the sum of their parts.

Applying the lens of behavioral economics to benefits choices helps employers understand why employees choose or don’t choose certain voluntary benefits.

Hoping to get a green light from the IRS on a creative new plan design you are planning to implement – or even just get reassurance that amendment you have made to your plan in response to new legislation are correct? Don’t hold your breath.

Lower income employees present a particular challenge to employers as they seek to get a handle on managing their health plans.