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Commentary: Countless conversations with brokers struggling with 6055 and 6056 concerns show many find their applicable large employer clients are challenged to find practical solution for this reporting, says EmployeeTech’s Michael Weiskirch.

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House and Senate would require employer-sponsored retirement plans to provide participants with an estimate of how much lifetime income they could expect from their current savings.

Commentary: A few months ago, two major announcements were made in the retirement plan space that profoundly affected retirement plan sponsors and participants.

The Affordable Care Act’s Small Business Health Options Program will not succeed without the broker community, the heads of three state-run exchanges said at a HIX policy conference.

The Department of Labor is giving the financial services industry and consumer advocates more time to comment on its controversial fiduciary conflict-of-interest rule proposal.

If employees are not well prepared for retirement it should be a major concern for both employees and their employers, experts say.

Commentary: At the end of an unsuccessful enrollment campaign, an adviser may wonder why participation was so low after they spent time and money on communications. It’s simple, says David Melton: Brokers employing the same old strategy will not succeed.

Only 10% of some 480 employers in 36 industries responding to a recent poll have implemented an in-house or outsourced solution to comply with Affordable Care Act reporting requirements.

Does giving employees multiple choices of health plans drive competition and empower them pick plans offering the greatest value and highest quality care –the theory underlying the Affordable Care Act and many employers’ benefit plan designs?

Whether participating in private exchanges or not, some say similar programs have been in place for decades, pointing to the government’s 50-year-old Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan as early example of what many employers are dealing with today.

Whatever employers have spent to comply with the Affordable Care Act so far, some feel the costliest years are yet to come.

Just over one year ago, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Labor to “restore the common sense principles” related to overtime.

The head of a Senate investigative subcommittee said he plans to look into problems with the health insurance marketplaces set up for the Affordable Care Act that forced many taxpayers to owe some of the tax credit money they had received for buying health insurance.

Commentary: New guidance suggests that OIG expects governing boards to understand the organization’s compliance obligations, work closely with management to monitor and enhance the organization’s compliance program, and to encourage compliance accountability across the organization.

The state of Nevada Public Employees’ Deferred Compensation Program chose Voya Financial, Inc.’s retirement business to serve as its single service provider.

With year three open enrollment on the horizon, state-run health care exchanges are busy building out systems and processes while renegotiating contracts, all to improve the customer experience, data flow and costs.

A new $250,000 national advertising campaign running on several popular political TV programs casts the Affordable Care Act as a positive force that is saving lives. It also seeks to counteract continued threats of repeal or scaling back the landmark legislation.

Chances are you have seen article after article claiming brokers need to buy more technology to help sell and service clients this year. Although partially true, blindly accepting these blanket statements can be costly for brokers. What I want to share with you is my experience working with these technology systems and a simple yet powerful approach you can take to make sure you don’t waste time and money on inefficient technology solutions. …

Without an effective strategy or the right tools to reduce costs, brokers and employers continue to embrace cost shifting through payroll contributions and changes to deductibles and coinsurance to manage rising healthcare cost. However, there are resources that can help employers effectively measure the success of a wellness plan, while incorporating specific cost-saving strategies.

When people speak about retirement and security, women often get overlooked, but they are one of the most vulnerable segments of society.