Employee benefits

With the final comment period for the DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule closing later this month, experts say the pressure is on regulators to issue a final rule before President Obama leaves office.

Chief human resource officers are coming to their roles with increasingly diverse backgrounds.

Open enrollment season. Your plans are in check. Your benefits fair is squared away. Your communications strategy is set. It’s game time, right?

General Electric Co. is trying to sell the asset management arm that oversees the company’s pension plan as it continues to cut back on non-manufacturing operations.

Kraft Heinz Co., which counts Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as its largest shareholder, is pushing some of its retirees to health exchanges as the company cuts expenses.

A potential plan to pool the health care purchasing power of Detroit’s Big Three automakers in the form of a CO-OP or similar entity sounds intriguing to industry insiders, but they also caution that it wouldn’t be an easy road.

Commentary: It can be difficult for employers to create uniform employment policies across state lines due to constant changes at the federal, state and local level.

Retirement plan sponsors need more clarity with QDIA regulations, says the Government Accountability Office.

Sun Life Financial’s acquisition of the employee benefits unit of Assurant is just the latest move in the insurer’s growth strategy for the U.S. market.

The DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule presents complex challenges to advisers, clients and will exacerbate the savings crisis in America, NAIFA warned Congress Thursday — two weeks before the comment period on the controversial rule closes.

Non-government money market funds in 401(k) plans are likely to be institutional prime money market funds that will be affected by reform rules announced by the SEC.

The recently announced mergers of four of the nation’s largest health insurance companies threatens to decrease competition in multiple markets, a threat the American Medical Association says will exceed federal antitrust guidelines and warrants regulatory review. Experts agree brokers will need to work with employer clients to find creative solutions to work with limited plan choices and keep premium costs down.

Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest life insurer, has agreed to buy the employee-benefits business of Assurant Inc. to further expand its presence in the U.S.

Commentary: Complacency can be a dangerous strategy when it comes to defined benefit plans, says The Principal’s Mike Clark.

Employees are gaining confidence in their short-term finances but the majority is still not saving enough for retirement.

Insurers are projecting significant jumps in pharmacy expenses this year, driven primarily by specialty drugs.

Despite the regulatory uncertainty about how the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax will apply to employer-sponsored care offered through onsite clinics, employers appear committed to the concept.

About 9.9 million people got health insurance coverage through the marketplaces set up by the ACA as of June 30, a decline from earlier in the year though still higher than the White House administration’s target.

The retirement system continues to change, with close to half of all corporate DB plans now closed to new entrants.

This year’s co-located Benefits Forum Expo and Workplace Benefits Summit in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 30-Oct. 2, aims to lend a helping hand to employers and brokers working in this challenging benefits environment.