Employee benefits

Seeking an alternative to the DOL's controversial proposed fiduciary rule, some members of Congress are drafting their own proposal that would establish rules for advisers working with savers and plans without the regulatory burdens and litigation risks that critics see in the DOL's plan.

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to repeal the core of the Affordable Care Act, bringing Congress closer to sending legislation to President Barack Obama for the first time that would dismantle his signature domestic achievement.

Healthcare coverage is a significant piece of your employees’ overall financial package. If your plan doesn’t appropriately meet their needs, it can be a source of stress for them throughout the year.

Under new final regulations, which take effect Jan. 1, 2016, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation substantially reduced the reporting requirements for pension plan administrators, sponsors and contributing employers.

Commentary: An employer’s argument that their classification of a 1099 employee should be respected because it’s how the employee is classified will go over like a lead balloon. The risk of misclassification under the ACA could be significant, says lawyer Peter Marathas.

Commentary: There are a lot of misconceptions about retirement plans that may keep employees from enrolling. Chad Parks shares are some ways to help businesses navigate these often jargon-heavy waters.

Commentary: What we can do to support them, make them feel more welcome in our company culture and help strengthen our own company in the process.

Commentary: This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which has vital implications for employee benefit plans — and for future attempts to impose state-specific regimes to gather health data from those plans.

Commentary: Adviser David C. Smith says he’s seen “a handful of imaginative approaches that all fail to satisfy the IRS’s prohibition” on standalone Health Reimbursement Arrangements.

Commentary: Auto-enrollment, codified in law by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, was drafted with the best of intentions — to increase Americans’ retirement savings — but it has had the unintended consequence of impairing plan effectiveness.

Commentary: The most important element in personal investing, including 401(k) investing, is an investor's understanding of his/her risk tolerance. Virtually all negative investor outcomes spring from a lack of understanding an employee has about his/her ability to bear risk.

EBA Advisers of the Year, as well as other industry insiders, share their insight on some of the major issues employee benefit brokers face. Take a look as these experts reflect on everything from the Cadillac tax to benefits technology to voluntary products.

As LIMRA celebrates 100 years in the industry in 2016, the association will renew its focus on retirement research, education and training and continue to evaluate the impact of the DOL’s pending fiduciary rule.

Commentary: If work-life balance is dead, how are employers expected to still promote it as a benefit?

Commentary: To ensure employees receive safe and necessary healthcare and maintain ethical practice, smart healthcare HR department leaders will want to keep their antenna up for any whisper or whiff of providers routinely waiving copays, coinsurance and deductibles for their patients.

The cancer support program at CBS involves everything from helping an employee find providers to facilitating transmission of medical records to obtaining second opinions and more.

Bring many of the industry’ leading minds together with brokers and advisers from across the country who are eager to learn and share insights on the latest market trends and best practices, and you’ve got some of the year’s most thought-provoking conversations. For those who missed out, here are the highlights from EBA’s 2015 conferences.

Commentary: The consequences of moving away from simpler, less sophisticated mortality improvement scales that change infrequently in favor of scales that depend heavily on recent data.

Commentary: Everyone expects to hear from you at open enrollment, but what about the other 11¾ months of the year?

Commentary: With so many moving parts and delays, it’s been understandingly difficult for employers to figure out exactly what their responsibilities are when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. But when it comes to healthcare reform, what you don’t know really can hurt you.