Ninety percent of Americans lack confidence that they have enough savings to cover emergencies and the long-term implications of serious illnesses, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or heart disease, reports the National Institute for Wellness Solutions.

A new Fidelity Investments study finds that noticeably more mothers than fathers have had comprehensive conversations about savings, planning and retirement with their adult children.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. employers report a bad-fit employee has had a measurable negative impact in a new survey from CareerBuilder. France reported the lowest level of instances, with 53%; Russia was highest with 88%.

Baby boomers are bucking the trends of generations before them, according to research released this week from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. When it comes to what they will pass on, 72% cite values and life lessons as most important, while just 32% said financial and real estate assets.

Laurence D. Fink thinks U.S. employers should be required to put money aside for their employees’ retirement, similar to Australia’s superannuation system.

Health Management was thrown into the spotlight in December when the CBS Corp. television program “60 Minutes” aired a report criticizing the company’s emergency room practices. The company at the time called the report inaccurate.

People with health insurance saw increases in their medical costs slow from 2009 to 2011, signaling potential structural changes in the industry that could cut health care inflation and save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars, according to two studies.

The Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill designed to repair the nation’s worst-funded pension system by raising contribution levels for state employees and delaying the retirement age.

Countless pieces of legislation are introduced in Washington each year and nothing is done with them. As NAHU pushes for a hearing on the MLR bill in the Senate, what are its chances?

Republicans and the drug industry have urged a repeal of the board, and Obama hasn’t yet appointed any of its members. A spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s Washington-based lobbying group, didn’t immediately comment on the decision.

According to this week’s 401(k) Performance Survey, approximately 5% of 401(k) plans, or 13,811 plans, stopped matching in 2010, and an additional 2% halted the employer match in 2011.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. climbed in New York trading yesterday after profit beat estimates and the insurer’s margins widened.

Of the 12 cancer medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year, 11 cost more than $100,000 annually, the physicians said in an article in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, published online.

While the issue affects only a limited number of employees, it can result in significant costs for companies that have to move workers out of the U.S. or in lost productivity from dealing with an employee’s or partner’s immigration status.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is taking a firm stand on the discussion about how the navigators' role varies from brokers and agents - they're different. After testifying before an April hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Gary Cohen, the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, part of CMS, told EBA that navigators will be supplying objective information, while brokers will continue in their role of advising. "They are not making recommendations, they're not selling," Cohen said about navigators.

INTEGRATING 401(k) PLAN ADMIN, PAYROLL

Transamerica’s Stig Nybo author of Transform Tomorrow: Awakening the Super Saver in Pursuit of Retirement Readiness on how building a proper retirement nest egg is a big social crisis.

David Goldhill, CEO of the game show network takes on U.S. health care system spurred by death of his father.

The federal government is doing everything it can to ensure public health insurance exchanges are ready to begin enrollment on October 1. However, the head of the agency that is building the marketplace warned it will be a close call to the finish and everyone must work together to ensure that happens.

John Ludwig on how to help employees can increase their retirement savings including auto escalation and auto enrollment.