Employee benefits

Millions of ACA application inconsistencies come as no surprise to benefit advisers and could trigger an influx of business to brokers from confused 2015 ACA enrollees.

Even as employers of all sizes report increased success in their participants’ savings rates, having sufficient savings and income in retirement remains a top concern for many employees.

A recent appellate court ruling may affect the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to challenge "inflexible" employer leave policies, policies that result in the termination of employees who are unable to return to work after the fixed leave period.

Baby boomers are redefining retirement, with many saying their ideal retirement will include working – often in new, more flexible and fulfilling ways. As a result, employers should be preparing for a new battle to keep their older workers engaged as they near retirement.

Although most employers review retirement plan costs annually, many are not assessing fees evenly across all asset classes — and that’s where benefit advisers come in.

Auditing fees may not be inconsequential, but the fact is that an accurate audit including both pharmacy and medical claims has the potential to pay back the investment many times over.

With the impact of health care reform still evolving, employers are taking a fresh look at their strategies for keeping employees healthy and productive.

Industry experts say that while unlikely, the historically stable product line may have the potential for price changes as its sales continue to rise.

Online enrollment for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) on the federal exchanges will be operational later this year, according to a spokeswoman at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

With specialty drugs expected to reach as much as half of total drug expenditures within the next few years, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark has launched a new program designed to make the process of filling specialty medication prescriptions easier for plan members.

Business and education leaders are emphasizing an even greater need for immigration reform in the U.S. as highly skilled employees are being lost due to visa restrictions.

CMS says benefit brokers and advisers are expected to be able to enroll their small business clients on the federal SHOP exchange online by sometime later this year.

Small businesses are poised to benefit from the Small Business Health Options Program but more education for small-business owners is needed, says an industry group supportive of the Affordable Care Act.

Social Security will still be around when your employees retire, it just might look a little different. Here are five changes to expect in the coming years.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is bringing its personnel management system into the 21st century to remain competitive and efficient – a tactic that HR consultants say is being replicated by other higher learning institutions across the nation.

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.