Employer Strategies

The nation’s largest pension fund and health insurer WellPoint Inc. cut medical costs 19% by capping the price of some surgeries, in the latest sign payers are taking a tougher line against rising hospital claims.

Website and phone interaction among problem areas

Regulators outline ways of meeting fiduciary responsibilities

Alexander Alonso, the vice president of research for the Society for Human Resource Management, says that while health care and retirement remain the most important benefits for workers, acquiring and keeping top talent requires more offerings.

Computer systems to help Americans gain coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges may not be ready on time, and training for the people who will assist consumers is behind schedule, a government report found.

As plan sponsors continue to work through Affordable Care Act compliance, there has been some confusion about what types of plans are being sponsored. Here’s a look at the basics of these plans.

PricewaterhouseCoopers released results of an employee financial wellness study this week and found that 36% of employees in the generation born in the early ’60s through early ’80s say they’re likely to tap into their retirement savings.

It’s no secret that target-date funds have grown in popularity. A new Vanguard study, How America Saves, shows that 27% of plan participants were invested in single target-date funds at year-end 2012 and 51% of all participants use target-date funds. Also, 84% of sponsors offer target date funds, up 45% compared with 2007.

Position a nod to growth in broker-dealer channel.

Stephen M. Saxon, chairman of the Groom Law Group, says little is getting done on important retirement issues in Washington because of the mandated government budget cuts known as sequestration.