Employer Strategies

The world is getting smaller and smaller by the day. And as a result, brokers’ potential to work with clients from other towns, other states and maybe even other countries is getting bigger and bigger.

A survey found U.S. employers are increasingly looking at this option, following the lead of companies like Walgreen Co. seeking to reduce costs..

The president of the NBGH, who is retiring this spring, shares her thoughts about health reform and the future of employer-sponsored health coverage.

Increasing the U.S. minimum wage may lift some workers out of poverty while leading to as many as 1 million job losses, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

If the last few years were an age of reform, then we’ve definitely entered a new era — a time of compliance.

Employees with ready access to mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, prefer accessing employee benefit and pay information using mobile apps rather than using their desktops and laptop computers, an ADP Research Institute Study shows.

Employer-sponsored defined contribution plans – the fundamental core of retirement funds for about 80% of the full-time workers in the nation – need some alterations that will help boost plan participation among the part-time workforce and smaller employers, as well as offer better ways for workers and employers to contribute, according to a white paper released last week.

The dissatisfaction, disappointment and frustration with launch of the federal health insurance exchange could be expected, especially with the constantly elevating level of consumer expectations for e-commerce and other online systems. Meanwhile, the number of private exchanges continues to grow and are in a very good position to succeed.

While the intent of DOL fee disclosure regulations was to benefit retirement plan participants, results indicate there is much left to be desired. Employees have no idea what to look for or what their 401(k) fees even mean.

In a sign of just how difficult it is to rein in out-of-pocket costs, 35% of 2014 bronze-level plans in the Small Business Health Options Program exchange had deductibles that exceeded suggested annual caps under the Affordable Care Act.