Employee benefits

Commentary: Adopting a new approach to participant communications that factors in the unique characteristics of each generation, as well as the specific needs and preferences of each individual, is key to building and sustaining business.

Workplace benefit plans are key part of employees’ future financial success but the majority of employers don’t think their employees value the benefits that are offered.

Spousal exclusions are usually implemented as a cost-saving tactic but they can be a difficult sell to employees whose spouses may be affected.

A new coalition representing the public and private sectors, as well as Republicans and Democrats, is seeking a full repeal of the ACA’s excise tax on high-cost group plans.

Starting a wellness program may feel like rocket science, but it can actually be quite easy.

While a majority of both public and private employees have access to retirement plans, new research points to major differences in the number of those who actually participate.

Not according to employers, who are turning to brokers to help them navigate the ACA, explore technology capabilities and administer group plans, a new study finds.

The honor recognizes extraordinary contributions such as significantly increasing a firm’s sales and/or market share, providing strategic consulting to help clients achieve their highest goals, fostering employee benefit innovations, advocating successfully for adviser causes and, in general, elevating the status of all women in the profession.

U.S. working adults who seek the help of an adviser are more likely to describe themselves as savers and have less debt than those without an adviser.

EBP audits are designed to catch problems that administrators might not be aware of, yet audits themselves can lead to penalties, disqualifications or impacts on participants’ tax returns if they don’t adequately identify issues that should be addressed.

Commentary: Companies that step up sooner, rather than later, on paid parental leave will be better positioned to win the war for talent.

Commentary: As a broker offering these benefits to your employer groups, it is important to become proficient in voluntary benefits or choose to outsource this expertise.

Commentary: Stretching a match has strong appeal for companies that have identified a retirement benefit philosophy that prioritizes the ability of its employees to retire with the right replacement ratio.

As another insurer megamerger takes place, how will employer health plans fare with a shrinking field of providers?

Commentary: Communicating your benefits programs during OE is one of the most important things you’ll do all year, and it can be challenging even in the best of times. So how do you gracefully communicate bad news?

Michael Turpin, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s Northeast region, shares his thoughts on the new landscape and the potential impact the deal could have on benefit brokers and the insurance industry.

What would you do differently if you could recreate your voluntary benefits program from scratch?

With just three major insurance companies, brokers must distinguish themselves from carriers, create additional approaches to serve clients and develop alternative risk approaches to health benefits, industry experts say.

After more than 50 votes in Congress and two attempts before the U.S. Supreme Court to mothball the ACA and public exchange marketplace, some Republicans now see the budget reconciliation process as yet another avenue for achieving this long-time goal.

Anthem Inc. struck a deal to buy rival Cigna Corp. for $48.4 billion, wrapping up almost a year of contentious negotiations and potentially creating the largest health insurer in the U.S.