Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

In a new white paper, two researchers say DOL should allow defined contribution plans to make electronic delivery the default mechanism for conveying disclosure notices and information to plan participants. But wouldn't such a move further alienate low-income workers from plan participation?

Last week's survey results from McKinsey, which found 30% of employers plan to drop health benefits after PPACA-mandated exchanges open in 2014, may be the product of flawed methodology, according to news reports.

Although it can’t compare to one of my favorite YouTube sensations, I have to commend AARP for producing a YouTube video that aims to teach employees about 401(k) fees and their impact on retirement plan balances.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, preventive screening for ovarian cancer is not listed among the services that are required to be covered at no copay or coinsurance, despite the fact that 1 in 72 women will get ovarian cancer, compared to similar 1 in 69 for women age 40-49, who will get breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. …

I am firmly on record as being highly in favor of doctors who make house calls, so I read a recent article from msnbc.com with interest about WhiteGlove House Call Health, a Texas-based company that connects primary-care practitioners with patients at home for as little as $35 per visit. However, some think that WhiteGlove and similar vendors may be doing a disservice to the health care system.

Even if you’re a hot-head outside the office, I’d imagine you and most other benefits professionals would opt for a peaceful solution to workplace disputes — if only to avoid litigation, which as we all know can be as costly as it is contentious. In the spirit of peace, two new items from EBN tout the value of arbitration and mediation in resolving workplace disputes.

If you truly want to make employee wellness a strategic priority, you can leverage your talent management programs to support it. Guess blogger Sean Conrad of Halogen Software offers some of the practical ways your talent management programs can help.

Going into the Memorial Day weekend, before hundreds of you head out into the sun for beaches and backyard barbeques, the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention wants you to know that today is Don’t Fry Day. Get it? Friday … Don’t Fry Day. Forgiving the kinda cheesy name, NCSCP’s motives are sound in trying to encourage sun safety awareness by reminding everyone to protect their skin while enjoying the outdoors this holiday weekend and every day. …

Restricting an employee’s activity while on leave is okay, a federal court ruled recently, stating that an employer may enforce work rules that require employees to "remain in the immediate vicinity" of their home while on sick leave.

New research from Aon Hewitt reveals that slightly more than three-quarters (75.8%) of eligible employees participated in their company’s defined contribution retirement plan last year, up from 73.7% in 2009 and 67.2% in 2005, driven largely by auto-enrollment. Great news? Maybe, maybe not.