In 2012, the U.S. life and annuity insurance industry will be challenged to find ways to manage both capital and risk in an economically and politically uncertain year, while continuing to lay the groundwork for future growth, according to Ernst & Young's new Global Insurance Center U.S. Outlook report.

A new ADP survey shows a wide gap between the goals and reality of how employees understand their benefit plans. Eighty percent of human resources decision-makers believe it's important for employees to fully understand their benefit options, yet they estimate only about 60% of their own employees do – a finding with serious implications for how companies communicate one of the most important parts of their employees' total compensation.

Workers in the U.K. and Poland have the most generous statutory employee holiday entitlements while employees in the U.S., Canada, Philippines, China and Thailand have the least generous entitlements, according to an overview of employee regulation and employment practices released by Mercer.

Americans' trademark optimism is intact, at least in regard to retirement, despite the economic turbulence that is reportedly forcing many people to work longer and make do with less. In fact, many retirees found only one downside.

Not only are older American workers (age 50 and over) expecting to work longer, but many now say they expect to never retire, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute. Data suggest the trend may be tied to the recent economic recession.

While employers have increasingly adopted CDHPs as a lower cost option, employees have been slower to embrace them. A recent study reveals one stat likely to increase participation, writes BeAdvised contributor Doug Mantz.

Mayo Clinic researchers have amassed additional evidence that secondhand smoke kills and smoke-free workplace laws save lives.

After decades in relative obscurity, a legal doctrine that holds corporate officers liable for company wrongdoing is finding its way back into some high-profile health care prosecutions.

The chief executive officers of Medco Health Solutions Inc and Express Scripts Inc will tell a U.S. Senate subcommittee that merging the pharmacy benefit managers will wring out wasteful spending and lower the cost of medicine, according to a government filing.

Consumers, facing worries over being able to afford adequate health care, want their employers to do more to help them improve their health and get the most from their employer-provided health and wellness plans, according to a new survey.

As another open enrollment season comes to a close, millions of consumers are finalizing their benefits packages for 2012. Unfortunately, more than half of insured adults are confused with several important aspects related to choosing a health insurance plan, reveals a survey released Monday.

Obese adults in the United States use a number of prescription drug types more frequently than normal-weight adults, says a new study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 is having a positive effect on 401(k) plans, according to Fidelity Investments.

Question: What options are available these days for employers who need to cut back on retiree health spending, but still want to provide health care to their former workers? Long after employees retire with the proverbial gold watch, a company may still be carrying them on the books. Through collective bargaining, contractual obligations, or simply a commitment to doing what is right, the employer often arranges for group retiree coverage. …

The trio of federal agencies charged with interpreting and enforcing the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act have addressed some of the most significant questions arising from these laws. In a set of Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services have intimated that the looming ACA deadline for the production and distribution of summaries of benefits and coverage will be extended.…

Most U.S. health insurers last year would have satisfied the much-disputed spending rules under President Obama's health care reform, according to a new report by a congressional watchdog agency.

CVS has told some doctors in Florida, the nation's pill mill capital, that its retail pharmacies will no longer fill prescriptions they write for some potent and addictive drugs, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

Nearly two-thirds (63.8%) of plan sponsors have changed the investment lineup in their 401(k) plan in the past year, up markedly from a mere 20% in 2008, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America.

Last month, a statement from McKinsey Consulting declared that "social innovators are bringing bold new approaches to the difficult problems that plague the world. The next disruptive force in social innovation will involve a new, more rigorous approach that funnels resources to where they can do the most good."

In 2009, the Civil Service Employees Association Employee Benefit Fund was at a crossroads. The benefit fund, which provides dental and vision benefits for more than 300,000 public employee union members and their dependents in New York State, was facing a double-digit spike in its health insurance costs and seemed resigned to renewing a policy with an insurer that was not meeting the needs of the fund's 60 employees.