Employee benefits

Commentary: The Department of Labor's new proposed fiduciary regulations have caused quite a stir in the retirement plan community. A frequently asked question is who, exactly, will be affected, and who won't be.

Employees report increased confidence in retirement readiness with lifetime income options, but few utilize such plans when offered by employers. Advisers can help match interest with engagement.

Big data is playing an increasingly larger role in benefits strategic planning and if a broker, health plan and employer work together, the opportunities for using such data to lower costs and increase well-being can be realized.

Assurant Health announced this week it will be sold or shut down by the end of 2016, a move the parent company attributes to million-dollar losses as a result of the ACA.

There are a number of reasons why employees leave their jobs — they’re bored and unchallenged, they don't get recognition for their work, they have a strained relationship with their manager — but they are all related to a single problem.

Retirement account balances reached a record high $91,800 in the first quarter of 2015, and more than 1 million people increased the rate at which they are putting money aside for the future.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do better at ensuring that health insurance policy issuers and self-insured plan sponsors pay a fee required under the Affordable Care Act known as the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research fee, according to a new government report.

Three plan sponsors share their inventive – and sometimes controversial – strategies for getting employees more deeply involved in retirement savings.

The parent company of Assurant Health said Tuesday it will sell or shut down the Milwaukee health insurer by the end of next year.

Wellness programs have been at the forefront of employers’ minds, and in light of the recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s aim to tackle the questions lingering on what plan sponsors can or cannot do, employees are voicing a disconnect in wellness program engagement.

The Affordable Care Act brings new administrative complexity to employers offering health plans, making real-time reporting even more critical.

Commentary: Why hasn’t client adoption of enrollment technology met expectations with mid-sized employers during the last two decades? Recently, overall adoption has grown at a much faster pace than we have seen in a long time.

Commentary: There may be an opportunity to partner with professional employer organizations, says EBA advisory board member Andy Torelli.

Commentary: Working with a managing general underwriter can be one of a broker's most beneficial relationships, helping to build a book while addressing clients’ major insurance issues. Selecting the right MGU partner is critical.

More than a third of DC plan sponsors are unaware of their fiduciary responsibilities, and some are also confused about what qualifies as a QDIA.

It is safe to say that Ron Surz is passionate about retirement, particularly when it comes to target-date funds. Surz, president and CEO of San Clemente, Calif.-based Target Date Solutions, believes that too much risk is placed in TDFs, which have become the go-to default investment in many employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Calling all health care entrepreneurs. The National Business Group on Heath wants to take a look at start-ups with “innovative solutions to improve health, or enhance the efficiency, delivery or consumer experience within the health care system.

Health insurance plans purchased through public health care exchanges often generate levels of member satisfaction higher than plans obtained through employers, according to a J.D. Power study.

Of the five types of sales profiles, one sticks out as significantly more successful than the rest, but in order to emulate that success, advisers must change their habits.

There are a variety of solutions available that brokers can suggest to clients who are seeking to attract and retain millennials, who often have yet to build financial savings.