Employee benefits

The Affordable Care Act has increased the burden for benefit professionals and forced employers to alter their business practices to comply with the health care reform law, industry experts told Congress.

It’s not often a company finds itself in a market position where it has the flexibility and agility of a newcomer, along with a storied history that provides name recognition and a solid base of existing expertise. Global financial services giant AXA is in this sweet spot as it enters the U.S. employee benefit business for the first time.

Anyone who works with people knows the positive effect offering high-quality employee benefits can have on a workforce. They attract the best potential candidates for new jobs and foster a sense of loyalty and support among current staff, in addition to other things.

Seattle-based Array Health says it has formed a partnership with HealthEquity providing personal health accounts on Array’s e-commerce platform – Array Spectrum.

Employees and employers need to make sure their 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plan assets are in the right allocations for where they are in life, and that means revisiting those allocations on a regular basis.

Despite the best efforts of workplace-sponsored retirement plans and even the relatively positive status of Social Security, many baby boomers say they have lost confidence in their ability to live comfortably in retirement.

A plan’s average account balance is a key metric used by recordkeepers and other service providers to evaluate its health. Increasing it can give sponsors the leverage they need to negotiate lower fees.

Smartphones have transformed the way employees engage in work, and smartwatches are about to do the same.

Consumer expectations demand advisers establish an online presence, LIMRA research shows. Financial advisory firms are stepping up to meet the demand, and following 3 critical steps to achieve social media success.

While several reasons have been suggested for a plateau effect in public exchange enrollment, it may all come down to dollars and cents, as well as carrots and sticks.

Committees and plan sponsors alike have discussed ways to improve their investment menus over the last several years as a way to help drive successful retirement outcomes for employees. Regulatory changes, market instability and large numbers of investment options have led plan sponsors to devote more attention to their plans’ investment menus. What steps can committees take to help the problem that has plagued so many participants over the years? …

Millennials are often portrayed as job-hopping, entitled employees yet they are hard-working and loyal if they believe their companies are investing in them in ways they value.

Employees say nothing in their total rewards package stands out, and this perceived lack of differentiation could be damaging employers’ attraction and retention efforts.

As one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy and with thousands of employees spread out across the country, there is a lot riding on the health of the employees at Dominion Resources.

The Affordable Care Act has had one unintended consequence for small businesses. It has prompted employers to beef up their retirement benefits as a way to attract and retain good employees.

Even when using a TPA, plan sponsors must retain documentation for loans and hardship withdrawals, IRS says.

Employers around the world are pushing free transparency and seeking better investment outcomes for their workers, which is leading to a greater availability of low-cost investment options in employer-sponsored plans.

Top- rated states and localities have shortchanged payments to retirement plans as rallying stocks ease the funding pressure while services such as schools and crumbling infrastructure scream for resources.

Time was when the word marketplace conjured up images of village locals peddling their wares to eager residents, or tourists looking to sample native foods or purchase artistic creations from an open-air market nestled within a quaint town.

Given the pressures of everyday work, employees from different generations will likely experience anxiety, depression and performance issues in very different ways.