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Any benefits technology employers adopt should always engage and educate employees throughout the entire benefit experience. Don’t offer access to technology simply for technology’s sake.

The HIX marketplace may offer Americans more choice when it comes to health insurance, particularly as public exchange options expand, but it continues to complicate life for HR professionals.

Employee Benefit Adviser, in partnership with business intelligence data analytics firm miEdge, introduces the first listing of top large-group employee benefit firms in the country to be ranked exclusively on health and welfare revenue. Revealed in descending order, the listing is based on Form 5500 Schedule A reporting data as of Nov. 7, 2014.

Commentary: Columnist Mel Schlesinger shares the secrets of selling your knowledge rather than relying on value-add services to close the sale.

EBA's first-ever technology survey reveals how benefits agencies plan to invest in internal systems.

On the whole, benefits professionals do feel a high level of satisfaction with the majority of technology they use, but shortcomings in end-user experience remain a frustration.

A majority of brokers have seen some of their employer clients drop group coverage altogether in reaction to the ACA and double-digit rate increases. That trend, they say, will rise and advisers need to adjust the way they do business if they hope to survive.

Plan design plays a significant role in the success of a 401(k) plan, and there are opportunities for design to be catered to better suit employee needs and retirement objectives.

Commentary: The problem with marketing surfaces when sales initiatives fail to meet expectations. This occurs because they’re based on ideas that don’t work, says John Graham. The sales expert shares how to avoid making such mistakes at your firm.

Multiple measures indicate the nation’s unemployment picture is changing for the better. Yet more jobs and an increase in hiring activity also means higher turnover and retention challenges for employers.

Commentary: Are private exchanges just a flex benefits reboot? Lockton’s Mike Smith shares what he thinks will affect their success and adoption.

With an expected 5.5% rise in health care costs in 2015 – the same year the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate takes effect – employers have high hopes that spending can be reined through increased employee consumerism.

EBN’s inaugural technology survey indicates that 41% of respondents plan to increase their spending on technology next year, with 45% having already increased their spending from 2013 to 2014. Much of that spending is directed toward new employee portals and front-end systems to better integrate and utilize various benefits functionalities (health, retirement, voluntary benefits and more).

On Saturday, the first day of enrollment for 2015 Obamacare plans, the federal insurance website was working well enough that 100,000 people submitted applications, U.S. health secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell reported.

Commentary: As open enrollment season moves into full swing, columnist John Ludwig turns your focus to financial wellness, a growing concern for employers.

Commentary: Is your agency ready for 2015? Columnist Nelson Griswold shows how an in-depth analysis of a firm's strengths and weaknesses can help set goals for the new year.

One-third of business owners have no plan to control health care costs, however, most plan to handle their benefits strategies on their own, study finds.

In the midterm elections, a majority of Massachusetts voters checked “yes” for Question 4 on their ballot – a measure that calls for employers with 11 or more employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per calendar year. Companies with fewer than 11 employees will have to provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time.

Numerous states and cities across the country decided during last week’s midterm elections to raise their minimum wage, which has legal and retail employment experts predicting changes to other benefits could occur as a result.

The wisdom of offering 401(k) loans has long been debated, with some arguing that allowing them is an incentive for employees to participate in the plan, while others believe they do more harm than good since employees often reduce or stop saving in their 401(k) plan after taking a loan from it.