Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Financial advisers have turned decidedly more optimistic about the market’s prospects for 2012, according to an SEI Quick Poll. Nine in 10 of the advisers surveyed in early February, including bank advisors, say they expect a positive return for the S&P 500 in 2012, up 18% from a similar survey conducted in mid-January. More than six in 10, 63%, predicted gains greater than 5%, a sentiment that spread dramatically from just three weeks ago.

Six federal agencies have issued a final rule requiring insurers to provide to consumers at the time of enrollment a plain-English summary of benefits and coverage, and a uniform glossary of terms.

It's tax time again and I tend to get questions this time of year about reporting of benefits. Health plans that provide coverage to same-sex couples and domestic partners require some special consideration for tax purposes so let's review some of the key issues. The first is verification of status. Some employers voice to me concerns over asking for marital status for fear that requiring enrollees to identify potential same-sex partners is tantamount to discrimination. But…

Despite evidence that younger investors are well-positioned to benefit from long-term retirement savings less than half (45%) plan to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account for the 2011 tax year, according to research.

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

Outsourcing is still very much alive as a tried-and-true strategy for insurers hoping to increase productivity without increasing overhead. Such is but one of the findings of a new report issued by New York-based research and consulting firm Novarica.

Pension plan sponsors view controlling funded status volatility as the top priority for their organizations for the third year in a row, according to an SEI Quick Poll.

A growing number of younger participants in 401(k) retirement plans are investing in target-date funds, according to a recent analysis. Using data from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that the percentage of recently hired 401(k) participants with two or fewer years of tenure holding TDFs jumped from 43.6% in 2008 to 46.6% in 2009 increasing slightly to 47.6% in 2010. …

The cost of health care for individuals with employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% in the third quarter of 2011 versus the third quarter of 2010, and 0.9% versus the second quarter of 2011, new data reveal.

Employers share some of the blame for rising health care costs, but they also have the ability to dramatically cut those costs with a few simple steps, according to a speaker at the 2012 Employer Health & Human Capital Congress in Washington.