There are numerous reasons to move the sale of ancillary products to the forefront of your sales strategy, not the least of which is a significant increase in your revenue.

The decline in plan sponsor appetite to change recordkeepers has dropped at a steady rate, not in spikes, which makes it likely that we will not see a dramatic increase any time soon. Meanwhile, many of the larger, more established recordkeepers are having record years; that means the rich keep getting richer while the rest are suffering.

Without delving too deeply into philosophy, it is probably safe to say that some people are compelled to do the right thing only because of the fear of punishment. As a young child, if I had the opportunity to take an extra cookie and not get caught, I may very well have taken full advantage of the situation. However, more often than not, the fear of getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar prevented me from doing it.

From analyzing the developing definition of fiduciary to discussing the best ways for advisers to differentiate themselves from the competition, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' "10th anniversary 401(k) SUMMIT" gave more than 950 attendees plenty of tricks of the trade to improve their business and stay informed on industry developments. Held March 6-8 in Las Vegas, the SUMMIT drew a range of retirement advisers, recordkeepers, plan administrators and others from across the country.

The 2010 annual enrollment season saw the opening of the floodgates regarding dependent eligibility, as employers were required under the health care reform law to extend coverage to all dependent children - regardless of student status - to age 26. This includes both married and unmarried dependent children, as well as those who are no longer dependents on their parents' tax returns.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, all plans must cover certain preventive care services with no member cost-sharing - with an exception for grandfathered plans - as of plan years beginning on or after Sept. 23, 2010.

Even with the virtual touch of social media, one very human element remains: the need for community. We search online and in our neighborhoods for people who share our same interests. No matter where our work or daily activities take us, we return to the community. The community has a strong influence on culture and behavior patterns. If your clients want a successful corporate wellness program, they should open the door to the community outside the workplace walls. The far-reaching benefits of community volunteer work may surprise everyone.

In this post-health care reform environment, benefit advisers - and their employer clients - face a new world order. For instance, with new restrictions on capping lifetime maximum benefits, the burden of managing the potential financial risk posed by even one employee's catastrophic illness looms large.

Several members of Congress from both political parties expressed support for the role of the agent and broker post-health care reform to a crowd of more than 700 at February's National Association of Health Underwriters annual Capitol Conference in Washington, D.C. - including calls for the medical loss ratio provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be altered.

In case you missed these recent headlines: "Health Care Brokers Fight for Fees" - Washington Post "The Debate Over Brokers' Fees" - New York Times "Brokers Seek to Preserve Role in Health Insurance Marketplace" - Kaiser Health News The stories - and other recent media coverage - focus on efforts underway to push back against PPACA's medical loss ratio rules. At least as far as the popular media is concerned, broker commissions are big news right now.

Like so many successful advisers, Brian Ashe is quick to tell you that relationships are the largest driver of success in the insurance business. "People change companies," Ashe says. "They can be really terrific with numbers; they can be good managers of their offices; they can have the latest equipment. But if you are not a person who believes in and is dedicated to the establishment of relationships, it makes it significantly more difficult to be successful."

Unanswered questions and unknown repercussions abound as regulators continue to flesh out the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act framework. For employers, it is a frustrating time of uncertainty and confusion.

Consumers are spending $363 billion a year on ancillary health care, according to a new study by Deloitte.

Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider and publisher of the widely followed Standard & Poor's Index Versus Active Fund scorecard series, has launched the industry's first comprehensive, periodic scorecard for target-date mutual funds. The S&P Indices Target-Date Scorecard provides performance comparisons, equal- and asset-weighted peer averages, and volatility comparisons for U.S. target-date funds versus their relative S&P Target-Date Index.

When the National Association of Insurance Commissioners decided last Sunday to delay action on throwing their support behind a bill that would exclude broker commissions from health reform’s medical loss ratio calculations, the move was met with mixed reviews, but by no means signals an end to the effort, say insiders.

New research from MetLife spotlights a disconnect between the perceptions of voluntary benefits held by employers and employees.

A March 17th hearing on the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act had more of a July 4th sensibility, with fireworks igniting before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to companies large and small are learning that attention to detail and improved communication with the plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s retirement services unit is generating significant new business, much of it from existing clients of the bank.

In response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan on March 11, 2011, the Million Dollar Round Table and the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation have established the MDRT Japan Disaster Relief Fund. The MDRT Foundation has donated the first $50,000 to the fund, and MDRT will match donations up to another $100,000.