Employee benefits

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.

Comparing wellness program participants to nonparticipants is a widely repeated mistake. It continues because employers are not schooled in research study design.

The funded status of the 100 largest corporate pensions dropped by $6 billion in March, increasing the deficit to $349 billion, according to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index.

Employees have their eyes set on vision insurance, as sales have increased close to 25% since 2013 and are leading the pack in worksite voluntary sales growth.

Insurance company CEOs discuss the essential role of the broker and how they can make themselves stand out as new players enter the insurance space.

CMS says it will pay close attention to compliance with agent/broker standards during audits of qualified health plans offered in the FFM in 2015.

Wellness programs focused on biometric screenings and health risk assessments remain popular but are slowly giving way to more nontraditional wellness benefits such as paid time-off, parenting classes, leadership training and communication and community volunteer projects.

For a decade, a new kind of mutual fund has been taking over Americans’ retirement portfolios. The target-date fund is designed for people with no knowledge of investing.

The correlation between benefits policies and enterprise financial performance has been thoroughly studied, and the correlation is positive. The problem is that many investors have yet to grasp the significance of that correlation, and lack basic tools to assess the quality of the company from an HR and benefits perspective.

There is a unique opportunity in retiree health benefits, one that brings a potential windfall for advisers willing to embrace the market.

Major employers like Facebook and Virgin share workplace strategies to improve culture, happiness and, ultimately, a company's bottom line.