Since 2008, Mass Metal in Lawrence, Kan., has helped individuals buy, hold and sell gold and silver through its online service, SilverSaver. Now the company is offering SilverSaver as a voluntary benefit program.

According to a LIMRA report released late last summer, "Voluntary Worksite Benefits: Penetration and Market Potential," almost one-third of all employers are considering offering new voluntary benefits to replace existing benefits that are paid entirely or in part by the employer.

Despite their "constantly wired" reputation, Generation Y employees don't use online resources such as forums or blogs to access voluntary benefits information any more than other workers do, according to new research. And they're significantly more likely than other workers to turn to a family member or friend for information.

As the economy picks up and companies begin to shift focus from maintaining financial stability to cultivating employee growth, performance management will prove to be a key way to enhance employee engagement and job satisfaction.

Acquisitions often occur for different reasons: Sometimes a company is looking to expand within its market sector; other times, a company is looking to expand outside of its traditional business operations for future growth and expansion.

Cost-shifting to employees, consolidating plan choices, emphasizing account-based plans and requiring employees to do more to receive incentives are key themes outlined in the 2011 Towers Watson Health Care Trend Survey.

Do you have a personal physician? How did you choose your doctor?

I always have had an ear for conspiracy theories. I still watch Oliver Stone's "JFK" almost religiously and freeze frame during the shooting incident. But when it comes to the health care exchanges created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, even I cannot start to consider a deep-seated conspiracy. The more I look at it, the more obvious the answer becomes: It's simple economics, that greatest leveler of them all.

Let me begin with a two-part confession: First, I do not claim to be a health reform expert. I have not read through the massive regulation and rely heavily on the interpretation of other, smarter people. Second, I am fairly apolitical. I don't find politics at the local, national and state levels particularly engaging.

In the digital age of talking via tweet, the term social networks now makes people think of Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. However, according to Dr. Larry Miller, president and CEO of Activate Networks, flesh-and-blood social networks are just as critical, if not more important, than those relationships forged in cyberspace.

A key recommendation for medical coverage standards under president Barack Obama's health care overhaul will be released on October 7, according to the organization preparing the report.

The Obama administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to back the centerpiece of Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul —the requirement that all Americans have health insurance.

Americans are divided on their outlook for the economy, a Harris poll of 2,464 adults earlier this month found. Twenty-one percent expect the economy will improve, 45% think it will stay the same, and 34% fear it will get worse.

The Department of Health and Human Services has extended public comment on two proposed rules published on July 15 to establish state insurance exchanges and implement standards related to reinsurance and risk adjustment.

Predicting an employee’s future success at a company has traditionally stumped experts, and relying on metrics such as IQ level, only tells 25% of the story. What makes up the other 75%, according to Shawn Achor, Harvard researcher and positive psychology expert, is the optimism that your behavior matters, a positive social support system, and whether you view a challenge as a stress or an impetus to improve.

Prepaid card programs are becoming one of the more desired incentive rewards among corporate HR execs, according to a survey from incentive marketing firm Young America. Nearly half (46%) of HR executives use prepaid cards for their incentive/reward programs, compared to 33% who reward with cash and 47% who use checks, according to the survey of 355 executives in HR, sales or marketing departments at U.S.-based companies with motivational or incentive programs in place. …

Amidst all the talk of health benefit costs skyrocketing, there may be good news on the horizon. Early responses to a Mercer survey still in the field suggest that the average growth in health benefit cost will slow to 5.4% in 2012, the smallest increase since 1997. Still, cost growth remains well above both general inflation and growth in workers’ earnings.

Don’t be fooled by Hedda Bolgar Bekker’s peppered hair and grandmotherly stature — she is most definitely not your average 102-year-old. Quite the contrary, Bekker still works 20 hours a week as a psychologist and travels to speak about aging and the workforce.

The Kansas City Collaborative (KC2), a three-year long value based benefit project, succeeded in helping the 15 participating employers share best practices for overcoming health care challenges. Nine of these companies reported that they have saved almost $11 million in direct health care costs by implementing a value-based benefits initiative.

Financial planners can prove their worth if they find ways to lessen the chance that their clients will not outlive their retirement funds. David Blanchett, director of consulting and investment research for the Retirement Plan consulting Group of Unified Trust in Lexington, Ky., last week detailed how planners can implement sustainable withdrawal strategies so that retirement income works for their clients.