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Government is perhaps the last employer segment that provides benefits that liken to those retiring baby boomers remember: A strong pension plan and paternalistic health care benefits.

Insurers have spent years and years enduring negative criticism. Consumers may be changing their tune, at least according to 10,000 U.S. consumers surveyed for the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings.

As more benefits advisers struggle to articulate their value proposition to their clients and prospects, many are realizing that being the access point to products is not the differentiating value that clients want or expect. Personally I have not thought that was the case for more than a decade. Clearly our clients need our advice, expertise and counsel. But given all the competition that exists, especially in the mid- to large-case market, that’s not enough in…

Heath savings accounts are the hot ticket item in private sector benefits these days. On Monday, Bank of America announced a record 34% growth in health savings accounts in 2011, adding more than 50,000 accounts last year. The growth is attributed to increases in account use among employees of existing corporate clients, and new relationships with individuals and employers.

More U.S. workers with 401(k) plans are selecting or defaulting to simple target-date mutual funds, an investment strategy that took its lumps during the credit crisis, but have emerged with greater popularity.

U.S. health insurers said on Friday they feared President Barack Obama had set a new precedent by making them responsible for providing free birth control to employees of religious groups as he sought to defuse an election-year landmine.

A woman whose firing from her job over a request to pump breast milk was supported by a Texas judge said last week the decision was unfair and discriminatory, and her lawyer said an appeal was under consideration.

People in the market for health insurance will soon have clear, understandable and straightforward information on what health plans will cover, what limitations or conditions will apply, and what they will pay for services, thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act according to final regulations published last week.

Financial advisers have turned decidedly more optimistic about the market’s prospects for 2012, according to an SEI Quick Poll. Nine in 10 of the advisers surveyed in early February, including bank advisors, say they expect a positive return for the S&P 500 in 2012, up 18% from a similar survey conducted in mid-January. More than six in 10, 63%, predicted gains greater than 5%, a sentiment that spread dramatically from just three weeks ago.

Six federal agencies have issued a final rule requiring insurers to provide to consumers at the time of enrollment a plain-English summary of benefits and coverage, and a uniform glossary of terms.