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Analysts predict Aetna is planning to acquire another carrier in the near future, likely Humana or Cigna, a move that promises to disrupt the industry.

The Department of Labor recently announced a proposed set of regulations about retirement plan fiduciary responsibility. Here are the answers to nine frequently asked questions employers have about their fiduciary duties.

As a younger generation of investors begins to grapple with retirement planning, advisors and fund companies should take note of the distinct concerns that those millennials bring with them

Multi-employers that continue to offer health care benefits to retirees are embracing retiree-only plans as a cost-saving measure. While retiree-only plans are not subject to all of the rules of the ACA, there are still requirements employers and advisers should be aware of.

While the majority of employers offer a company match on their 401(k) plan, employees are not taking advantage of the benefit, passing up the chance to potentially receive thousands of dollars every year.

It’s a myth that older workers cost significantly more than younger workers, says AARP. And while such a conclusion might be expected from an advocacy group whose members fall into that demographic, it’s based on an empirical review of a variety of metrics for employee productivity and cost, including employee benefits.

Although an important aspect of retirement, Social Security is just the backbone on which defined benefit and defined contribution plans should build upon.

Great technology tools may help a public exchange grow in the short term, but knowing the customer base and business well enough to make the right investments is critical to an exchange becoming sustainable and successful in the long run.

Commentary: It is a lot of fun to be able to help employers make sound decisions through benchmarking. Oftentimes, that’s the start of a prosperous relationship, says Zywave’s Dave O’Brien.

A new FAQ from the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury offers quite prescriptive guidance on the types of contraceptives plans must offer and pay for, and to whom they must be offered.

Employer-sponsored defined contribution plans have become the go-to retirement vehicle for the majority of workers in the U.S. but more needs to be done to get employees to not only save but to save more.

Employers may need to redouble their efforts to help employees understand the opportunity presented by a high deductible health plan with an accompanying health savings account.

It is “silly” for Republicans to put together a response to the Supreme Court’s expected June ruling on the legality of subsides in the federal health care exchange, the health policy director at the CATO Institute, which helped launch the lawsuit, said Monday.

The DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule could have dire consequences for the business of benefit advisers, according to NAIFA. The association is taking its concerns straight to The White House and lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

Commentary: As the EEOC’s proposed regulations for wellness programs remain under review for public comment until mid-June, employers should not feel paralyzed in designing new wellness programs nor compelled to throw out existing ones.

Commentary: Do loans and hardships really help solve what the plan was designed to do? Columnist John Ludwig doesn’t think so. In the end, they are a detriment to most participants’ retirement dreams, he says.

Healthcare.gov runs the risk of offering too many health plan choices and the opportunity exists to be able to make it easier for consumers to compare coverage, the website’s CEO, Kevin Counihan, said Monday.

Most employers have still not determined how they will comply with complex ACA reporting requirements that began Jan. 1. Benefit brokers and consultants should be discussing the requirements and the solutions with their employer clients, experts say.

Finding ways to deter painkiller abuse has been a high priority for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent years. And with opioid abuse costing U.S. businesses close to $26 billion a year, health plan sponsors should take note as well.

About 25% of health plans in two state-run public exchanges were found to violate the federal mental health parity law, according to research by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that was published in the journal Psychiatric Services.