Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

If the health care law is implemented without the individual mandate insurance premiums would rise by as much as 25%, according to a new report by the Urban Institute Health Policy.

Broker-dealers are up in arms over a little-known provision of the Department of Labor's 401(k) plan fee disclosure rules. Ready why some industry observers say the brokerage industry only has itself to blame.

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

The majority (56%) of employers say they are likely to continue to offer employer-sponsored health insurance after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act largely goes into effect in 2014, according to a new survey conducted by GfK Custom Research North America.

Last week's report on unemployment shows that the economy continues to gather steam - payrolls grew by 200,000 and the jobless rate ticked downward again, to 8.5%.

U.S. health care spending experienced historically low rates of growth in 2009 and 2010, according to the annual report of national health expenditures published Monday.

Many of us are growing tired of the colder weather just as we grow weary of the grind of health care reform updates and downdrafts. And all of us are ready for the economy to improve in a meaningful and sustained manner. In some respects it is our winter of discontent. Not to mix literary references, but it is the best of times and it is the worst of times. Which will it be for you? That depends on whether your glass is half empty or half full. And it depends on whether you have a plan to succeed.

Employee assistance programs provide employees with support when they need it - from helping them through relationship difficulties to coordinating treatment for substance abuse. And while 69% of employers offer EAPs through external organizations, the potential still exists for them to be caught in legal entanglements. What are employers' potential liabilities and what can advisers do to help them mitigate risks?

As HR/benefits outsourcing becomes a larger part of employers' overall business strategy, industry professionals' primary job no longer is putting out small fires. Rather, practitioners are blazing trails toward workforce and organizational development.

Not only is it painful for an employee to hear the news that their loved one has suffered a heart attack, but the unforeseen costs of health care will soon take a physical, emotional and financial toll if they are not prepared.