Employer Strategies

The IRS recently issued Notice 2011‐72 and a Memorandum for All Field Examination Operations, which provide a road‐map for employers to avoid taxing employees on cell phone expenses. Following the de‐listing of cell phones as "listed property" from Code section 274(d) last year, there has continued to be some uncertainty on the proper tax treatment of employer‐provided cell phones (and reimbursements of cell phone costs). This guidance, summarized below, clarifies the proper tax treatment and…

Investors appear to have switched gears from focusing on replenishing their balances from 2008’s market downturn to taking all of the responsible steps to prepare for retirement, according to Principal Financial Group’s analysis of retirement plan participants’ behavior in 2010.

In an effort to help Americans better prepare for their retirement, ING’s U.S. Retirement division has launched a nationwide initiative that allows employees to instantly enroll in their workplace retirement plan by accessing ING’s online enrollment center through a tablet.

October marks the start of open enrollment season for many American workers — their annual opportunity to reconsider and re-elect the benefits made available by their employers. “The Growing Importance of the Workplace,” the first in a series of research briefs stemming from Prudential's Sixth Annual Study of Employee Benefits, found that 80% of workers believe the workplace is an important source for personal insurance and savings products.

Here’s a scenario for you: a group health and wellness client you’ve represented for over ten years approaches you to be his/her adviser on a 401(k) plan. Congrats! You’ve worked hard to position yourself as a valued adviser. No doubt you’d like to reap the fruits of your labor. But your next action is extremely important. It may have not only ethical consequences, but legal ones as well. It is vital that you go forward with a…

A top Labor Department official defended the controversial plan to expand the definition of "fiduciary" to cover people providing advice to retirement plans on a commission-based model, a proposal strongly opposed by industry groups representing independent broker-dealers and advisers.

In the midst of a gaping hole in life insurance coverage, Mintel Comperemedia, a research and consulting agency that specializes in direct marketing, released statistics regarding the life insurance sector’s marketing targets and finds that carriers are drifting further and further away from the bull’s-eye.

A significant number of advisers who serve 401(k) plans will ramp up their retirement income planning practices over the next few years, according to a new report from Principal Financial, called the “2011 Best Practices in Retirement Income Planning Study.”

After several years of relatively modest premium increases, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage increased to $15,073 this year, up 9% from last year. On average, workers pay $4,129 and employers pay $10,944 toward those annual premiums.

Twenty-five percent of employers have little or no understanding of specialty pharmacy and 53% have only a moderate understanding of this challenging benefit according to a new survey released by the Midwest Business Group on Health.