Employee benefits

A third of Americans have no retirement savings and those who do aren’t saving enough — automatic escalation can help.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 has helped to reduce costs and limit liabilities for multiemployer plans. But the landmark legislation will sunset at the end of the year, which has many stakeholders and consultants predicting future retirement uncertainty for the more than 10 million participants in multiemployer plans across the nation.

A benefits manager may assume that health care coverage and insurance needs are easily covered as employees head off to international worksites, but preparing for accidents - or the complexity of global insurance rules - requires some extra forethought.

A couple weeks into the post-Bill Gross PIMCO era, plan sponsors may be interested in learning what other plan sponsors are doing with their PIMCO funds in their retirement plans.

The quality of Form 5500 reporting depends entirely on whether benefit managers and plan fiduciaries select qualified auditors and service providers, says Ian Dingwall, chief accountant for the DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration, speaking this week during the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans' annual conference in Boston.

A new broker-friendly private exchange is launching that will allow employees at companies with less than 50 lives to buy health insurance using pre-tax dollars.

Earlier this week, Walmart announced it was dropping health care coverage for employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, a move the company estimates will affect about 2% of its workforce. Here’s a wrap-up of our analysis, plus a look at the ways other large companies are handling rising health care costs.

The number of employees with long-term disability plans has dropped and employees paying more for coverage, despite the fact that that 1 in 8 will need it during their career.

At Alliance Resource Partners, 4% of the workforce is responsible for roughly 45% of the company's annual health care spend. The coal mining company is implementing new initiatives to better reach workers at remote mine sites.

Commentary: Have you heard of Medicare observation status? Columnist Craig J. Davidson says it is creating a payment nightmare for older plan participants with Medicare Part A as the primary payer. Educate your groups with Medicare beneficiaries, Davidson says, because the rule has real consequences.

Wearable wellness is here to stay, yet precisely how the devices will affect employer programs remains to be seen.

Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesperson, tells EBN that the company's decision to end health coverage for a small portion of its workforce will enable these employees to "decide for themselves what makes the most sense for them."

Aon Hewitt expects more than 1.2 million employees, retirees and their families to choose health benefits through the company’s exchanges — revising their earlier estimates upward.

Walmart’s announcement this week that it will drop health care coverage for its part-time employees reiterates that employer-sponsored health care coverage is changing, and those benefit advisers who plan to remain relevant to clients must change, too.

EBA’s annual Workplace Benefits Summit, held last week in Boca Raton, Fla., included a celebration of our Advisers of the Year, strategy and marketing tips from benefit professionals, and the presentation of our inaugural Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising awards.

Walmart Stores Inc.’s move to eliminate health insurance for about 30,000 part-time workers underscores the mixed benefits of Obamacare for companies and their employees.

Encouraging the use of video game-styled features on smartphones to boost participation in your wellness program might get employees off to a good start, but these tools might not be the best long-term solution to building engagement.

Commentary: October is National Depression Awareness Month. Jeff Guardalabene, a mental health case manager with Standard Insurance Company, offers these tips on how to help your employer clients navigate this important but often uncharted territory.

Walmart Stores Inc. the world’s biggest retail chain, plans to stop offering health benefits to employees who work less than 30 hours a week, a move that will affect about 2% of its U.S. staff.

As Congress continues to explore ways of making our retirement savings system stronger, legislators should consider requiring 401(k) plans to automatically enroll workers, eliminating participant loan features and allowing unlimited Roth 401(k) contributions.