Healthcare

What does next year look like for retirement plan sponsors and participants? Here’s an early call on what many experts expect to see.

While carolers may chant joyfully about the holidays being “the most wonderful time of the year,” many workers find themselves singing the blues during the winter months. One in 10 people will experience depression at some time in their lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This not only inflicts suffering on individuals and families, it costs employers $44 billion annually in lost productivity.

As baby boomers plan to retire in the next five years, nonprofit organizations are readying for the challenges ahead. More than a third of nonprofits surveyed by the Plan Sponsor Council of America anticipate difficulties recruiting staff to fill vacancies left by retiring boomers.

A group of Catholic health and educational organizations don’t have to comply with a federal Affordable Care Act requirement to provide their employees with contraception coverage, a federal judge in New York ruled.

It’s no surprise that the year ahead is going to mean skyrocketing voluntary sales. But experts say it’s no easy feat for health brokers trying to break into the business.

The government failed to send data to health insurers for about 15,000 people who enrolled in Obamacare through early December, an error corrected last week before it could jeopardize their coverage, the U.S. said.

A record-breaking number of Americans (54%) are considering kicking off 2014 by making financial resolutions, according to a recent study. That's good news for employers, who are increasingly embracing the concept of financial wellness.

Health insurers are being asked by the U.S. government to be lenient with Obamacare customers who miss the Dec. 23 deadline for enrolling in the program or are late with their initial payment. Meanwhile, Aetna says it will not renew canceled plans.

While most employers believe they're somewhat responsible for employees' financial wellness, according to a new survey, less than half of large companies (48%) has a financial wellness strategy in place or plan to add one in the next two years.

Pop singer Adam Levine is among the celebrities who'll be promoting enrollment in online health insurance exchanges as part of a social media campaign kicking off this week.