Benefit management

The hotel chain is partnering with provider Cengage to help employees complete their education, earn career certifications.

Employers moved to self-funded models, brokers embraced performance-based compensation and care delivery was increasingly tied to referenced-based pricing.

The coverage can be a top-of-mind benefit year-round, decreasing stress levels and saving time.

Advisers should help clients ensure that separation benefits are fair, timely and backed by company support.

The U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a clash over Houston’s practice of providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees, leaving intact a Texas Supreme Court decision that calls the city’s policy into question.

There are several provisions in the upper chamber’s text that alter existing tax treatment, and experts predict those elements will win out in final law.

Platforms have progressed from providing education to offering true decision support and guidance for workers.

Advisers should help clients ensure that separation benefits are fair, timely and backed by company support.

Industry experts say the resulting rise in costs is likely to shift to employers and other stable health insurance consumers.

Though the tax legislation is mostly praised for leaving 401(k)s unscathed, new pass-through deduction could impact whether some small businesses offer the benefit.