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Here's a recent roundup of industry accomplishments. Check to see if a colleague is mentioned this week.

Outsourcing is still very much alive as a tried-and-true strategy for insurers hoping to increase productivity without increasing overhead. Such is but one of the findings of a new report issued by New York-based research and consulting firm Novarica.

Pension plan sponsors view controlling funded status volatility as the top priority for their organizations for the third year in a row, according to an SEI Quick Poll.

Republican and Democratic leaders accused each other of bad faith negotiations on Tuesday as both parties played hardball in talks to extend a tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers.

“Stand up.” The audience stands. “Sit down.” The audience sits. “Now stand up again.” An audience member mutters under his breath, “No way,” while Fikry Isaac, chief medical officer for wellness and prevention at Johnson & Johnson makes his commands to make a point. Wherever your employees are — a meeting, a desk or at a conference, simple movement can go a long way to create a corporate culture where health is truly valued and lived.

Controlling funded status volatility is the top priority for defined benefit plan sponsors for the third consecutive year, according to a recent survey. Nearly three-quarters (70%) of those polled said funded status volatility was a “high” priority, while 43% ranked it as an “extremely high” priority for 2012.

With all of the rules and regulations governing benefits delivery and administration, industry pros can be left feeling like they are traversing a minefield. However, knowledge is power. So, the first step to avoiding benefits’ biggest pitfalls is knowing what they are. We’ve outlined five of them for you here.

A growing number of younger participants in 401(k) retirement plans are investing in target-date funds, according to a recent analysis. Using data from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that the percentage of recently hired 401(k) participants with two or fewer years of tenure holding TDFs jumped from 43.6% in 2008 to 46.6% in 2009 increasing slightly to 47.6% in 2010. …

The cost of health care for individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% in the third quarter of 2011 versus the third quarter of 2010, and 0.9% versus the second quarter of 2011, new data reveal.

Employers share some of the blame for rising health care costs, but they also have the ability to dramatically cut those costs with a few simple steps, according to a speaker at the 2012 Employer Health & Human Capital Congress in Washington.