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According to the Human Rights Campaign, 39% of Fortune 500 companies now offer transgendered employees and/or dependents health benefits to cover medical costs associated with gender reassignment surgery, up from 1% in 2004.

With new cost-basis reporting requirements in effect for the 2011 tax year, Charles Schwab is warning investment advisers to brace for a hectic tax season and prepare for a flood of questions from clients who for the first time will receive a revised 1099-B form packed with new transaction information.

Consumers who receive a financial needs analysis are more likely to buy life insurance, and purchase larger face amounts, than those who don’t receive an analysis, according to LIMRA’s 2011 U.S. Buyer-Nonbuyer study.

I know of an employer — which shall remain nameless — that began communicating its benefits enrollment period the day enrollment began. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, it’s a real company.

Just under 50% of Americans surveyed by Fidelity Investments, regardless of age, say they are conservative when it comes to retirement savings, the company found in a study.

Mercer has launched a new blog for employers that it hopes will be thought-provoking. M/THINK also includes data-rich infographics and commentaries on key business issues facing today’s employers.

The U.S. health care system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care, according to a new study that found first-rate treatment for cancer but insufficient primary care for other ailments.

Across the board, employees may have access to retirement plans, but that’s not the case for small businesses. A new small business survey by Nationwide Financial finds that 75% of small businesses agree that so many Americans are financially unprepared for retirement that it has reached crisis levels. However, only one in five of these businesses offer their employees a 401(k) or other employee self-funded retirement plan.

Two Rhode Island men were charged last week with conspiring to steal the identities of elderly and terminally-ill people to set up investments that reaped more than $25 million in death benefits from insurance companies and bond issuers.

Deloitte released the second edition of a report from the Deloitte Global Center for Corporate Governance, “Women in the boardroom: A global perspective,” which details the legislative efforts in 17 countries to encourage more women to serve on listed company boards.