Employer Strategies

Commentary: How brokers can select the right decision support tool to enhance voluntary sales, according to guest blogger Steve Adams.

Unbeknownst to your clients, prescription drugs are likely costing them a great deal. As their trusted adviser, here’s how you can help.

More and more, companies which have integrated auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features into the retirement plan design are producing impressive participation and savings rates, more in line with the targets that will result in the kinds of 401(k) balances participants will need in retirement.

One thing is certain as Cover Oregon switches over to Healthcare.gov, more work for brokers.

New research provides a glimpse into just how dire of a situation employers are in as they face rising health care costs and the desire to continue offering a competitive benefits package.

While even the smallest of employers are reporting increased success in their participants’ savings rates and ongoing recruitment benefits in offering a workplace retirement plan, the fiduciary burdens of administering those 401(k) plans are starting to add up for many plan sponsors.

Are you making retirement plan decisions using a prudent process? Do you always put the interests of plan participants ahead of the company's when considering plan issues? Here are some best practices related to decision-making and documentation.

In the retirement plan arena, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was a game changer for defined benefits plan sponsors - it altered the way in which the value of lump-sum offerings was calculated, making lump-sum payouts a more attractive solution for plan sponsors seeking ways to reduce the risks associated with their DB plans.

While benefit brokers applaud HHS efforts to hold ACA exchange navigators to licensing and certification standards, many worry federal regulation will undermine state efforts already in place.

In an effort to make workplace retirement savings more portable and to help build assets in tax-qualified retirement plans, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have removed a cumbersome step plan sponsors must take when accepting rollovers from other employers’ plans.