As 403(b) plans look more like 401(k)s, plan sponsors are turning to advisers to help with plan design and administration.

Commentary: Yes, employers can distribute plan documents electronically, but they must follow the rules, and don’t assume intranet posting is enough — because it is not.

Young benefit advisers are spearheading many of the efforts that promise to keep the benefits profession relevant in the 21st century. EBA’s 2015 Rising Stars in Advising are not just navigating the benefits industry, they’re paving its new frontier.

States should not step in and establish their own exchanges if subsides are ruled illegal on the federal health care marketplace, a recent national study found, but industry experts say that is not the national consensus and point to the wording of poll questions to support the discrepancy.

While the U.S. Supreme Court ponders its decision in King v. Burwell, a senior economist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation suggests that the time may have come to re-evaluate the tax-favored status of employer-provided health benefits coverage to offset the costs of lost subsidies, maintain budget neutrality and end a bifurcated system that favors the wealthy.

Commentary: Proactive case management is the first step to creating a process for disability leave management that clients can count on, says The Standard’s Sandy Johnson.

Voluntary business is a well-known tool for brokers to increase their revenue while offering new products. But many employers are hesitant to add these products because of additional administrative burdens they can require. Enter the private health care exchange, says Carlos Ferrera, COO of Solstice Benefits and the Solstice Marketplace. With an exchange, the burden is gone, he says.

Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t just stay on the Strip – it blows across the Sagebrush State like a wayward tumbleweed. Case in point: Nevada Health Link enrollees have been reporting mistakes on the 1095-A IRS forms to calculate their premium tax credit on the federally supported state-based HIX.

The decrease in compensation is negligible since the medical loss ratio took effect, study finds, but other industry organizations disagree.

Commentary: It’s harder for women to get ahead in business, thanks to pay inequality and other factors, says ACI Specialty Benefits’ Erin Krehbiel. But, they can do something about it.

UnitedHealth Group’s $12.8 billion purchase of pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. continues a trend of PBM acquisitions, and there’s more to come, industry consultants say. In the long term, that may mean lower costs and more data availability for employers.

Commentary: Three reasons Individual contracts are incompatible with ERISA plans and how to handle it, according to The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

Commentary: While these FMLA changes don’t require any immediate action or changes to employers’ benefit plans, they could serve as a catalyst for federal officials and agencies to further extend their reach into benefits programs, says Sam Fleet.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. agreed to buy Catamaran Corp. for about $12.8 billion, bulking up its drug-benefits business to get better negotiating power in talks with pharmaceutical companies over prices.

For many taxpayers, their first introduction to the ACA may be the Form 1095-A that they receive in the mail, and bring with them — or forget to bring with them — to their tax preparer. Many have questions about the form, and state exchange call centers have been inundated with inquiries. Here are top five questions being asked about Form 1095-A.

There’s room to grow in the investment-only variable annuity space, and educated advisers are the key.

Continued lawsuits over excessive 401(k) fees are on track to force providers to change the way they deliver products and end a practice that appears to be a “showcase of impropriety.”

Commentary: It depends, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya, who points to the Massachusetts system. The national model must evolve first.

Aetna has agreed to reduce out-of-pocket payments for most HIV and AIDS medicines after pressure from an advocacy group, revising coverage that had some patients paying $1,000 a month for the drugs.

After two enrollment seasons under the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, the easily accessible and amenable are signed up for health care. With year three starting this fall, the task will be tougher to target the remaining uninsured, who are harder to reach. Who better to drive the message home, Washington state thinks, than brokers?