Employee benefits

One thing is certain as Cover Oregon switches over to Healthcare.gov, more work for brokers.

New research provides a glimpse into just how dire of a situation employers are in as they face rising health care costs and the desire to continue offering a competitive benefits package.

While even the smallest of employers are reporting increased success in their participants’ savings rates and ongoing recruitment benefits in offering a workplace retirement plan, the fiduciary burdens of administering those 401(k) plans are starting to add up for many plan sponsors.

Are you making retirement plan decisions using a prudent process? Do you always put the interests of plan participants ahead of the company's when considering plan issues? Here are some best practices related to decision-making and documentation.

In the retirement plan arena, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was a game changer for defined benefits plan sponsors - it altered the way in which the value of lump-sum offerings was calculated, making lump-sum payouts a more attractive solution for plan sponsors seeking ways to reduce the risks associated with their DB plans.

While benefit brokers applaud HHS efforts to hold ACA exchange navigators to licensing and certification standards, many worry federal regulation will undermine state efforts already in place.

In an effort to make workplace retirement savings more portable and to help build assets in tax-qualified retirement plans, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have removed a cumbersome step plan sponsors must take when accepting rollovers from other employers’ plans.

Because alternative investments, such as private equity, hedge funds and real assets, are typically accessed though a limited partnership structure, retirement plan fiduciaries are charged with more extensive due diligence as compared to monitoring daily valued mutual funds or separate accounts.

CMS has reset all Healthcare.gov user passwords in response to the Heartbleed internet security bug, causing frustration for consumers and brokers, alike.

A program for sick Americans who were previously denied insurance coverage has been further extended, with individuals now given until the end of June to purchase coverage.

Benefit advisers should be familiar with certain grace periods when employers can avoid penalties.

Topping the recent California rate of 39%, brokers on this state-run exchange completed more than 36,000 of the private health plan enrollments. Their record with SHOP enrollments, however, was a different story.

IRS issues annual health spending account contribution limits and out-of-pocket maximums.

Only a little over half of small businesses understand and are prepared for the changes required by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey.

Financial concerns and readiness for retirement remain top worries for Americans, even as many employers are trying to help by offering financial education benefits.

Why trusted advisers should be sharing this growing retirement income strategy with their clients.

Industry musings about how fast this employee benefit selection tool will grow and in what format are plentiful.

Effective in 2015, the Affordable Care Act requires that employers report information about the health coverage they offer to employees. As you plan for ACA compliance, be reminded that you have this reporting obligation, not just to the Internal Revenue Service but to employees as well.

When the public exchanges were first envisioned, some industry analysts thought most employers eventually would head for the exits on financing health benefits and simply steer their employees into the nascent online marketplace. That hasn’t happened, of course, and it’s far too early in the HIX rollout to expect any meaningful change to occur.

While no public exchange was without troubles during the first ACA open-enrollment period, one state in particular put unique efforts into its SHOP component and saw results.