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While there is projected to be a slight uptick in salary increases in 2012 compared to 2011, companies are continuing to place the greatest focus on variable pay, according to the U.S. Salary Increase Survey released by Aon Corporation. Aon Hewitt surveyed 1,494 large U.S. companies in June and July, which revealed a 2.9% base salary increase projection in 2012 for salaried exempt, executives, salaried nonexempt and non-union hourly workers. This is up slightly from 2011…

South Carolina does not want any more federal money to set up an insurance exchange, the state's health regulator said on Thursday, citing fears about the strings attached to the funds.

Starting Sept. 1, health insurance rates for the individual and small group markets will face stricter scrutiny to determine whether they are reasonable under new rules required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will review rates in nine states that lack the authority to adequately do so. The remaining 41 states will conduct their own reviews.

Half of America’s households (about 58 million) claim to be underinsured when it comes to life insurance, according to a new study from LIMRA. The study, “Trillion Dollar Baby Growing Up,” revealed as much as $17.5 trillion in untapped sales potential for the life insurance market.

As President Obama prepares to unveil his new job-creation plan Thursday night, he doesn’t exactly have the strongest lead-in. Last week’s jobs report revealed the economy added zero jobs last month, leaving unemployment at 9.1%. The report also showed unemployment is particularly high among young Americans (age 18-24) — an eye-popping 16.4%.

With employers increasingly embracing mobile app technology for delivering benefits information, more vendors are getting into the game to serve the growing market. Enter the latest, Left Coast Solutions, which has developed iJoin, an application for smartphones and other mobile devices that helps investors determine how much they need to save for retirement to replace their monthly income. …

A Borders Group Inc unit failed to give its workers proper notice of mass layoffs when it announced plans to liquidate in July, a new lawsuit alleges.

The Internal Revenue Service issued advice on Friday to employers who outsource their payroll duties to third-party service providers.

They may long to give up their daily commutes and have wide-open schedules, but far too many baby boomers are largely unprepared to leave their jobs, according to a new report by the Insured Retirement Institute.

The term “social media” was recently added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, reflecting the reality of its presence and power in both business and social settings. But there is a consumer-driven evolution underway in social media that is portending the end of an era, according to Brian Solis, an expert in new media and principle at Altimiter Group, a research advisory firm.