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Is this year's 2% reduction in FICA withholding a retirement communications golden ticket to incent sluggish plan participants? One plan sponsor thinks so.

Small-business employment continued to show growth in December with hours worked up and wages flat, according to the latest update of the Intuit Inc.’s "Small Business Employment Index."

New research on workplace clinics observes that the clinics may have a limited impact on direct health costs, but their presence offers employers more control over how health care is delivered.

As 401(k) balances rebounded in 2010, the executives running defined contribution plans named retirement readiness one of their top priorities, according to the “10th Annual 401(k) Benchmarking Survey,” conducted by Deloitte and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists.

Business owners who employ between two and 500 workers recently told pollsters they have reshuffled business priorities where now business and income protection have taken center stage.

A combination of regulatory, political and economic factors are set to create an uncertain environment for U.S. health care insurers, Moody's Investors Service reports, leading to a continuation of the negative outlook for the industry.

For some workers, it’s hard to get back in the swing of things after the highs and lows of the last two weeks of 2010. But the good news for employers is that there are inexpensive ways to ensure the post-holiday blues don’t interfere with employees’ engagement.

One thing that always bugs me about this time of year is that all of my favorite shows tend to be on a “winter hiatus,” airing repeats until late January or early February. Here at EBN, we don’t believe in such a long winter’s nap; our BenefitsTV channel is rolling into the new year with four new episodes.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is now offering its new Dental Prime and Complete programs on both a voluntary and employer-paid basis with three core plan designs to 40,000 small businesses and 79 chambers of commerce throughout Connecticut.

In a sign of the times, the 38 independent provider law firms associated with Pre-Paid Legal Services responded to more than 79,000 requests to handle debt-collection issues in the first half of 2010 – accounting for 7% of the 1.1 million overall requests for assistance during that timeframe.