Employer Strategies

Only time will tell if the president’s self-declared year of the executive order will solicit more action from Congress on legislation. But what are the immediate implications for employees who heard his State of the Union call for a minimum wage increase?

A recent Federal Court decision turned back a potentially debilitating challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s rules governing premium subsidies. The decision, Halbig v. Sebelius, has consequences for large employers, i.e., those that are subject to the Act’s employer shared responsibility or “pay-or-play” rules.

A long-fought battle to ease the burden of insurance brokers’ licensing procedures moved a step closer to reality on Thursday afternoon. Still, hurdles remain for NARAB, with passage in the House uncertain, and the White House scrutinizing some components of the language.

Coming just on the heels of President Obama’s unveiling of the new MyRA proposal, Senator Tom Harkin announced Thursday the finalized details for his Universal, Secure, Adaptable Retirement Funds Act – legislation he hopes will provide a stable and financially solid mechanism for the 75 million Americans without access to workplace retirement plans.

Premiums for health plans on new state exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are comparable to – and in some cases lower than – those being offered by employers with similar levels of coverage, according to a study released Thursday by PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute.

In this commentary, one retirement plan adviser says government efforts and taxpayer funds would be better directed to educating employees on the importance of contributing to their 401(k) accounts and providing additional tax incentives for those few employers that have not already established a 401(k) plan.

As we begin the New Year, educating employees about new benefit programs through innovative, digital communication will be absolutely crucial. Here are five predictions for what 2014 will bring.

Being prepared for retirement is no longer an after-thought as President Barack Obama boldly claimed at last night’s State of the Union; TIAA-CREF’s new survey adds to this national conversation, noting that one-in-three covered Americans say they place guaranteed income at top of their retirement to-do list, but many are faced with problems that their traditional retirement offerings can’t answer.

The study of gerontology, the comprehensive analysis of aging and the problems of the aged, now makes up a new job description and possible new organization direction at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s retirement plan and financial benefit business.

Among the steps the president outlined in his State of the Union address are raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for future federal contract workers and creating a retirement savings program for people whose employers don’t offer a 401(k) plan.