Employee benefits

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced training and registration dates, along with requirements, for benefit advisers and brokers who want to enroll small business employers on the federally facilitated SHOP exchange.

Given that hospital charges currently represent about a third of the $2.7 trillion annual U.S. health care bill, employers may want to consider offering hospital indemnity insurance as a voluntary benefit. When an employer is reviewing these plans, there are several important features to look for.

Benefit advisers are poised to close the gap between employers’ need to control health costs and comply with the health law and employees’ lack of interest in taking ownership of their health care choices.

Despite its attempts to create a diverse workforce, even a superstar of the high-tech world admits its shortcomings. The overall makeup of Google’s workforce is still 70% male and 61% white, according to facts the company released Wednesday.

Benefit insiders predict a steep decline in small business group health insurance sales in the coming years, which could prove harmful for many independent brokers and agents.

Benefit advisers can advise their clients on a recent court case that confirms ERISA penalties will ensue for plan administrators that fail to provide plan documents when requested by a plan participant or plan sponsor.

The IRS this month clarified for benefit advisers and their clients that employers cannot escape ACA penalties and taxes via pre-tax premium reimbursement plans.

Benefit broker compensation problems, an existing health law and a tough exchange board have forced advisers in this state to take a backseat to the implementation of Obamacare.

The challenges faced by plan sponsors as they design, update and execute their 403(b) plan documents are sometimes left undiscovered until they are identified under audit.

Workers who travel out of their state or country of hire to perform work on behalf of their employers create liability exposures, due to complex laws, administrative rules and regulations that deal with workplace injuries and diseases across the U.S. and abroad.

Running out of money in retirement trumps other stress-inducing pressures such as public speaking and gaining weight for affluent Americans. But despite the prospect of not having enough money to live on later in life, many are unwilling to cut spending on indulgences now in order to invest for retirement .

If your wellness program consists of a health risk assessment and nothing else, you may be missing the bigger picture. While the tools can yield important information, they may ignore broader factors in employees’ lives that are influencing the unhealthy behavior.

With interest rates near record lows, employers are increasingly seeking new retirement investment options for their employee participants. Advisers should be prepared to discuss absolute return assets, industry experts say.

Commentary: Blogger Aaron Friedman discusses how benefit advisers can counsel employer clients on switching up 403(b) plan communication.

As states across the country take steps to address the financial needs of retiring workers, Illinois lawmakers are considering a new bill that would establish a retirement savings program for private sector employees that will be funded through automatic payroll deductions.

Evidence shows that more insurers bring down premiums on the ACA exchanges, which could ease conversations benefit brokers have with the uninsured about affordability of coverage.

Although there is presently no law against workplace bullying in the United States, a business with offices and employers abroad would do well to take note of the growth of legislation prohibiting this conduct and imposing liability abroad.

Final regulations implementing the ACA’s nondiscrimination rules for wellness programs became effective in January, but many employers are still unclear about how the regulations have changed. The changes are subtle, but noncompliance can carry heavy penalties.

Commentary: There are some misconceptions about a particular rising-star voluntary product and blogger Sam Fleet breaks them down.

The Internal Revenue Service has threatened employers with Affordable Care Act penalties of $36,500 per employee, per year, nondeductible. Makes those $2,000 and $3,000 penalties look like small potatoes, right?