Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Payroll and benefits outsourcing provider Paychex has acquired online 401(k) administrator ePlan Services.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress are launching a fresh attack on the healthcare law by targeting grants to states for creating insurance exchanges, just as congressional budget analysts said on Thursday setting up the marketplaces may be delayed.

A corporate health care exchange run by Aon Hewitt is “open and ready for business,” according to Ken Sperling, global health & benefits practice leader for the human resource consulting firm. Aon Hewitt Announced last week that it is launching the exchange for employer groups of 1,000 or more full-time employees beginning as early as January 2012. While the infrastructure — based on Aon Hewitt’s existing retiree benefit exchange model with 2.4 million participants — is built, the timing depends on securing a viable number of both employer and insurance company participants.

Two Republican congressional leaders have written to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman demanding information on how the IRS is spending $1 billion in funds the agency received under the health care reform law.

Retirement plan participants who don’t own a long-term care insurance policy and instead choose to self-insure for any LTCI needs in the future run the risk of seeing their life savings decimated by major medical expenses, cautions Jonas Roeser, senior vice president of marketing and operations for LTC Financial Partners LLC.

Built-up demand for health savings accounts helped to account for a solid 2010 for J.P. Morgan’s HSA business, according to David Josephs, managing director with the company.

What would you say if you had the opportunity to benefit from a full-blown wellness program, including a health coach — for free? Here’s your chance — we’re in the process of launching the 2011 EBA Wellness Challenge, starting with recruiting a benefit broker or adviser to participate in it.

Two new benefit firms have been accepted into the Benefit Advisor Network, expanding the group to 40 member agencies nationwide. The newest members are DeWitt Stern Planning Services of New York City and Gregory & Appel, Inc. in Indianapolis.

California regulators subpoenaed MetLife Inc. and plan a hearing on the company's practices involving the payment of benefits after learning of an insured’s death.

Have HR and benefit professionals who work for midsize employers lost their hunger for cafeteria plans in austere times? It seems that the answer depends on semantics and plan design nuances.