Recent events and trends have thrust the topic of lifetime income products for retirement plans into the limelight. Retirements among the leading edge of Baby Boomers, medical advances increasing Americans' longevity, the market swoon of 2008 and continuing volatility in the financial markets have all contributed to a consensus that today's workers need options for their defined contribution plans that mimic the retirement income benefits of a defined benefit plan.

If you want employees making better health care decisions, then give employers the data they need to create effective health plan choices.

Despite more than two-thirds of employees' self-proclaimed ignorance of critical illness insurance, the benefit is on the rise. Imagine what improved product knowledge and an enthusiastic broker could bring.

On New Years Day, millions of Americans will awaken to a very unpleasant surprise. Hundreds of medicines and drugs they were able to purchase just the day before on a tax-free basis will no longer be available tax-free.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to manufacturers and importers of branded prescription drugs on the annual fee imposed by the health care law.

To show the tangible value of telework, a group that works on telecommuting policies has announced the week of Feb. 14, 2011 as National Telework Week.

Finger Lakes Fire & Casualty, a policyholder owned company represented by about 120 independent agents, will now offer LifeStages identity protection services through Identity Theft 911, a leading provider of identity management and data-breach services.

Their respective names are synonymous with reaching new heights, which is exactly what Ascension Insurance, Inc. hopes to do in the employee benefits marketplace following its recent acquisition of Summit America Insurance.

Unum has unbundled the features of its individual disability insurance so that employers have more flexibility to select options for employees who are not fully protected by their group disability plans.

Proponents of mini-med plans were waiting to exhale until federal regulators showed a willingness to stave off the effect that a key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would have on these voluntary benefits for employees seeking affordable, baseline health insurance coverage.

Federal officials should consider making intermediary entities providing services to health plans — such as benefits managers, third-party administrators and repricers — eligible for receiving a unique health plan identification number, according to recommendations recently sent to the Department of Health and Human Services.

A report from the Government Accountability Office says using EHRs, operating health insurance plans and employing physicians are effective strategies for integrated delivery systems to enhance patient care.

Women bear the brunt of long-term care insurance cost burdens, according to Lisa Wendt, president and CEO of LifeSecure Insurance Company, which provides LTC and post-hospital recovery insurance coverage.

The Employee Benefits Group division of Sun Life Financial Inc. recently launched a campaign called “YOU” to educate and engage employees about their voluntary benefit choices during the latest open-enrollment season.

Critical-illness insurance is flying under the radar relative to other voluntary benefits, but a new MetLife white paper seeks to raise the product’s altitude among plan sponsors by showing how it adds financial protection and outlining steps to obtain the right amount of coverage.

The federal government's plans to build a national database of health care claims data covering tens of millions of individuals are on hold, at least temporarily, after privacy advocates protested the idea and the brief public comment period.

American CEOs are getting an earful on whether to keep or drop health insurance because of the health law, but Chris McSwain, director of global benefits at Whirlpool, said a business case on health coverage should also occur on the employee-family member level.

National Business Coalition on Health issued yesterday its annual findings that evaluate the quality and efficiency of U.S. health plans.

The American Medical Association has adopted a new policy that gives guidance to physicians using social media.

The growing number of limited medical plans that are receiving waivers from the Department of Health and Human Services for 2011 — a number that nearly quadrupled in the last couple of months, rising from 30 in September to 117 by Nov. 1 — now face some additional reporting requirements.