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Ford Motor Co. will pursue its boldest attempt yet to tackle a nearly $50 billion risk to its business when it begins offering lump-sum pension payout offers to 98,000 white-collar retirees and former employees this summer.

The cost of U.S. health care services is expected to rise 7.5% in 2013, more than three times the projected rates for U.S. inflation and economic growth, according to an industry research report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In a recent study, UK researchers concluded that there are two types of employee engagement — transactional and emotional — and that the type that’s most prevalent within your organization makes a difference.

Small businesses hired fewer workers in May and cut hours for those on their payrolls, an independent survey showed on Wednesday, raising prospects of another disappointing employment report.

More than half of Americans with individual market health insurance coverage in 2010 were enrolled in so-called "tin" plans, which provide less coverage than the lowest "bronze"-level plans in the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not be able to be offered in the health insurance exchanges that are being created under the law, according to a Commonwealth Fund. The analysis suggests that once the state-based exchanges — set up to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to shop for health insurance — go into effect in 2014, many of these Americans will be able to purchase plans that offer better coverage. In addition, many will be eligible for premium subsidies that will help offset the cost of the plans.

Employers consistently have done more with less in the past few years, and though the economy may be picking back up, company leaders don’t expect that the difficulty in finding skilled workers will have an impact on business. This is according to results from ManpowerGroup in its seventh annual Talent Shortage Survey, which explains the world's ongoing talent shortage crisis — in which one in three employers (34%) globally are reporting difficulty in filling jobs due to lack of available talent. This year's data reveal the crisis' deeper impact, as 56% of employers now indicate that unfilled positions are expected to have little or no impact on constituents, such as customers and investors, a considerable increase from 36% in 2011.

Controlling employer costs for health care benefits is a top priority among finance executives, according to a new study.

Last week I had the good fortune of attending and speaking in New York at a two day conference of HR managers from the Engineering and Consulting industry. These firms convene annually to learn how other firms deal with their issues i.e. sharing best practices. The topics, for this meeting, included navigating the regulatory environment, M&A activity, integrating employees and cultures when completing an acquisition, managing benefit costs while maintaining a quality benefit portfolio, hiring the…

Under the requirements of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, the Employee Benefits Security Administration starting this year must present a biannual report to Congress outlining the agency’s progress in implementing and enforcing — along with HHS and the IRS — the law. In January, EBSA submitted the first of such reports.

It may be a no-brainer, but savings behavior continues to be a critical factor in ensuring retirement preparedness. This is according to new research by the Putnam Lifetime Income Score, a survey of 4,000 working Americans. With U.S. households presently on track to replace 65% of their current income in retirement, a slight uptick from the June 2011 report, those best positioned for success have access to workplace savings plans, and proceed to defer 10% or more of their income.