Employee benefits

A new proposal to raise Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums to the tune of $25 billion over the next decade for companies that offer defined benefit pension plans is being contested. Not surprisingly, many in charge of administering their company’s pension benefits see the increase as crippling to their industry and the economy.

The breakdown of states running their own health insurance exchanges versus those using the federally facilitated marketplace will change in due time – but exactly how it will change is still up in the air, said a speaker at Wednesday’s National Health Insurance Exchange Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

The concept of limiting coverage of spouses through the implementation of a surcharge or waiver program has been talked about for years. This is a microcosm of the employee benefits environment where employers are considering every possible cost-control strategy.

Analytics and the use of big data by corporate America are increasingly growing as companies look to make better business decisions. Client, internal information and databases collected over long periods of time are helping companies better understand their business and where to spend their money. The same is true for public retirement systems.

Flexibility, tax benefits and the overall attractiveness of Roth 401(k) plans are encouraging more employers to offer them.

There’s an end to ambiguity on whether direct payments — for certain kinds of coverage — are taxable or not.

Many studies have shown that the average 401(k) participant earns at least 2% to 3% less each year than the mutual funds in their plans. Because so many of us give in to our emotions and chase markets higher, buying at tops. Then we get scared and sell when markets fall.

The do-it-yourself approach may be all the rage for home renovations but when it comes to benefits, employees still need guidance from their employers.

Commentary: Columnist John Ludwig says there's no "silver bullet" to solving all employers' financial wellness problems, but looking at certain demographic factors of your group is a good place to start.

Offering dental coverage and encouraging employees to stick to yearly care regimens can boost employee well-being and overall productivity.

Eliminating drug plan copays for specific, targeted groups of patients is an easy administrative fix employers can implement to help reduce disparities in care, says the co-author of a study on reducing ethnic disparities in cardiovascular care.

Connecticut legislators have approved the creation of a new board to study the feasibility of creating of a public retirement plan for private sector workers in the state who don’t have access to an employer-sponsored plan.

As the economy slowly recovers, more employees are ranking compensation as the biggest contributor to their overall job satisfaction.

Insurer groups this week shared ACA reform ideas with Congress, including the creation of a copper plan.

Knowing how many companies your client owns is critical to meeting ACA compliance. Here’s what you need to know about your clients that own more than one company under a controlled group.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act generally requires that plan participants get copies of plan documents when requested. However, there is even an enforcement provision of ERISA that subjects the administrator to penalties if they fail to provide requested documentation.

If your boss is mean to you, does that constitute harassment? In a word, no. But being mean to employees is certainly an invitation to a claim of harassment because most people do not understand its legal definition.

Millions of Americans could benefit from expanded coverage of preventive services under health savings account-qualified high-deductible health plans, says new research from the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design and Harvard University Medical School.

Members of Congress came out swinging Wednesday at a committee hearing with top insurers called as witnesses to determine whom of the more than 8 million Obamacare enrollees have paid their first month’s premium.

Employers concerned about the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax continue to consider adopting high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts.