In human resources and insurance circles, we’ve been talking about wellness for quite some time. And most employers have dived in and now offer a wellness program. So, how are these wellness programs performing? Too often, the answer is “not well.”

Financial experts say that people should try to replace 70%-80% of their current income in retirement, but current statistics suggest that employees need to make the right arrangements to do so.

Recently BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would follow Fidelity and Federated in making changes to its money market fund offerings. These changes are in response to SEC reform rules announced during the summer of 2014, which will permit floating NAVs, redemption fees and liquidation windows in prime money market funds.

Employers are bracing for double-digit pharmacy cost increases in the next year, but advisers can help them to take steps now to mitigate those cost increases for both their active and pre-retiree populations.

Commentary: All Americans are concerned about escalation of health care expenditures. But, does anyone really want the government in the middle of how we access care? Legislation in New York could make that happen.

Commentary: Employees can make the transition to high-deductible health plans and be successful when provided some key education and support from the financial services marketplace.

If I had a dollar for every time an industry professional reacted to my choice of college major with, “Risk Management and Insurance?  I didn’t know you could major in that,” I would be a rich man. From what I see, many people who make up the industry did not set out with the intention of working in insurance or employee benefits. So why would a young professional just entering the job market choose employee…

Gibson Insurance and its CEO Tim Leman are known in industry circles for their trailblazing social media presence, but many brokerages still wonder, what is the real return on investment from online marketing?

Commentary: Despite all the media coverage of the Affordable Care Act, there is still a fair amount of confusion and misunderstanding about the law, even among employees whose job it is to administer benefits.

Commentary: When evaluating the nonmedical space and the products with the greatest level of applicability to an employee, auto and home insurance provide significant protection, comfort and well-being to an employee and their family.

Medical tourism is gaining traction among Americans, and it can be a tool for brokers seeking to keep their self-funded clients’ health care costs down.

There may be a convergence of public and private exchanges and if that happens carriers need to adopt a more holistic approach and consider multiple retail channels to distribute their products as part of a multi-carrier approach or alliances such as those seen within the CO-OP market.

Commentary: More disclosures and transparency is not a bad thing, but how does this ruling truly help make things easier to understand and provide the leadership needed for retirement readiness, asks EBA columnist John Ludwig.

While debate continues about the long-term effects of the Affordable Care Act, many employers report minimal changes in their health care premiums as a result.

When prompted with direct financial incentives, including contributions to their HSAs, employees tend to show much stronger involvement in workplace wellness offerings.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a proposed rule today on wellness programs, removing what at least one business group calls a “big cloud” that has been hovering over employers as they struggle to ensure their wellness incentive programs don’t run afoul of the EEOC.

It's the “Big B, little b” conundrum. Big B benefit plans are usually subject to ERISA and require specific administration. Little B “benefits” are those perk and extras we offer to employees to be competitive in the market or to improve employee morale.

The Department of Labor finally revealed its proposed fiduciary standard rule on Tuesday after weeks of anticipation and speculation. The rule is intended to deter brokers from pushing “backdoor payments” and hidden fees in the products they recommend to clients.

Ownership of life insurance has been on a steady decline, and the reason many experts point to are other more pressing financial priorities — particularly with retirement income becoming such a hot priority.

The past year was not a good one for the top 100 corporate pensions, according to research by Towers Watson. Falling interest rates and increased liabilities from updated mortality assumptions combined in 2014 to eradicate most of the gains from the previous year, Towers Watson found. The average funded status of the Towers Watson Pension 100 fell from 89% to 81% in 2014, even though plan assets gained in value. One bright note was that plan sponsors…