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According to new survey results from Charles Schwab, 401(k) plan sponsors are offering participants more counseling but less cash to help them prepare for retirement.

Against conventional wisdom, the recession didn’t spur employees toward increased short-term and long-term disability claims. On the contrary, a new study of employers from the Integrated Benefits Institute indicates that key aspects of lost-time benefits programs have remained remarkably stable.

Although most retirement plan sponsors train their laser focus on helping participants save adequately for retirement — and rightly so — one nonprofit group is encouraging sponsors also to pay attention to assisting pre-retirees in preparing for the income distribution phase.

A U.S. appeals court handed President Barack Obama a victory for his signature health care law on Thursday, ruling against challenges by the state of Virginia and others seeking to invalidate the law as unconstitutional.

Well, it’s been quite an interesting renewal/marketing season already, hasn’t it? Trend factors are lower than they’ve been in years. Some carriers are out there offering premium holidays for new clients who sign up before January 1. And when’s the last time you saw a carrier offer a double-digit rate decrease right out of the chute? …

In a poll of telecommuters, Staples Advantage found that 86% of telecommuters say they are more productive in their home office. In addition, people who work from home are heappier, healthier, more loyal and better balanced than their cubicle-bound counterparts.

In case you missed it, the East Coast has had an odd month or so with an earthquake, hurricane and flooding. In trying to find money to pay for repairs and clean up, some folks might look to their retirement plan savings as a resource. Here are the nuts and bolts of "hardship distributions."

Twitter is brimming with inspiring tweets to inform and entertain the HR professional. EBN found four tweeters who consistently deliver benefits and HR advice to their followers. Whether their focus is on social media or health care, their style insightful or witty, we recommend you follow these thought leaders on twitter. Of course, follow @EBNmagazine and our list of editors for more breaking news and hot topic tweets.

One of the first (and most popular) changes brought on by health care reform was the mandatory extension of health plan eligibility to adult children up to age 26 regardless of student status or dependence upon the employee. Most people predicted that the rate of ineligible dependents would decrease after this provision took effect. Based upon a study my firm recently completed, comparing similar populations before and after the implementation of this provision, we can…

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