Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

A benefits manager may assume that health care coverage and insurance needs are easily covered as employees head off to international worksites, but preparing for accidents - or the complexity of global insurance rules - requires some extra forethought.

A couple weeks into the post-Bill Gross PIMCO era, plan sponsors may be interested in learning what other plan sponsors are doing with their PIMCO funds in their retirement plans.

The features and services that you think workers will appreciate and use may be completely different than what employees actually desire, so communication is key - maybe even in the form of a company survey. Easy access is also key to better utilization.

Benefits managers looking to overcome the reality that 90% of employees simply keep the same benefits during open enrollment need to employ a new, more personal communications strategy.

As Congress continues to explore ways of making our retirement savings system stronger, legislators should consider requiring 401(k) plans to automatically enroll workers, eliminating participant loan features and allowing unlimited Roth 401(k) contributions.

Employing a proactive strategy to address the explosive costs of specialty medications can serve the patients who need those specialized meds, with an unbelievable 63% increase in costs expected in the next two years.

What tricks and treats do you have lined up for your employees to help them manage the frequently conflicting personal and professional priorities that arise during the holiday season?

Frontier markets include countries like Lebanon, Nigeria, Vietnam, Slovenia and Argentina. Investing in frontier markets is more risky than investing in other international asset classes. In fact, the frontier markets asset class is probably the riskiest available to mutual fund and exchange-traded fund investors.

Group annuities are common among 401(k)s because they appear to be cost effective, turnkey options. However, careful due diligence will reveal they are big aggressors when it comes to fees that hinder portfolio growth.

A recent alert from the Securities and Exchange Commission emphasized how easily and quickly false information can be spread via social media by market manipulators who may be posing as legitimate or trusted sources of information. Plan sponsors may want to communicate this information to their 401(k) plan participants.