Employer Strategies

EBN’s annual Benefits Forum & Expo, held last week in Boca Raton, Fla., included a special focus on wearable wellness and an inspirational keynote address from marathon swimmer Diana Nyad. In case you missed the event, here’s our coverage.

Employers and employees have different perspectives when it comes to discussing benefits, and benefit advisers can help close that gap.

Employing a proactive strategy to address the explosive costs of specialty medications can serve the patients who need those specialized meds, with an unbelievable 63% increase in costs expected in the next two years.

Narrow networks of health care providers offer new ways for employers and health plans to control the costs of care. But many of these networks are being constructed without regard to the value they deliver, says Scott Wallace, visiting professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear Tibble v. Edison International, a case in which the plaintiffs contend their ERISA plan fiduciaries breached their duty of prudence by offering higher-cost retail-class mutual funds to 401(k) plan participants, even though identical lower-cost institutional-class mutual funds were available.

Health care reform has changed the role of the adviser from insurance broker to that of a trusted adviser, counselor and compliance guru. Advisers hoping to thrive in this new environment will embrace the change less as a burden and more as an opportunity.

Retirement patterns are changing globally. As a result, providing employees greater retirement security and financial literacy can help employers cultivate a less stressed, healthier and more engaged workforce.

Global information and measurement company Nielsen reveals how implementing a measured communication approach – both on the ground and in the cloud – during open enrollment worked wonders for the company’s internal employee ratings.

Can a cafeteria plan prevent an employee from heading to the exchange? New IRS direction clarifies mid-year changes for your client’s cafeteria plan participants.

Pick the wrong technology provider, and you’ll be fighting fires and frustrating employees every day, no matter how Amazon-like the shopping experience is for the end user.