Healthcare

New data indicates that target-date funds are used by roughly 55% of the participants in 401(k) plans at Vanguard, referencing a growing attraction to balanced investment options that automatically cuts down risk with age.

While health insurance companies are introducing themselves to customers in new markets through new channels, 41% of existing health plan members feel they do not have enough coverage for routine visits, serious illness or injury, health and wellness programs, routine diagnostics and drug coverage, says new research from J.D. Power.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General is opening an investigation into Maryland’s state-run health insurance marketplace, amid questions over spending on a still not fully-functioning website.

The Department of Labor requested public comments this week on a proposal to amend its 408(b)(2) fee disclosure regulations to require service providers to provide plan sponsors with a guide for navigating fee disclosure documents.

Commentary: It’s not too late to set up a 2013 retirement plan. It may not be flexible, but it is available for those seeking last-minute savings.

Commentary: You don’t need to be one of the world’s best writers to communicate effectively with clients about their retirement needs.

Commentary: Online enrollment that gets participation in voluntary benefits as good as or better than one-on-one enrollment meetings at the worksite — while letting brokers keep twice as much of the voluntary commission. Is it possible? Columnist Nelson Griswold explains.

Benefits and risk management consulting firm Laurus Strategies launches a private exchange consulting practice to help employers identify vendors and determine the feasibility of moving to a private exchange.

A panel including a security specialist and FTC privacy staffer talked Monday at an American Payroll Association meeting about common mistakes employers make with their employees’ personal data and what the right make-up of a privacy team at a company should look like.

The percentage of Americans who currently obtain health insurance coverage through their employers continues to drop, indicating an ongoing trend among benefit plan sponsors and HR decision-makers to shift costs to public and private exchanges.