Employee benefits

The U.S. government has shut down, but beyond continuing resolution budget debates, the next looming crisis is the federal debt ceiling. Are Affordable Care Act provisions more likely to be taken hostage there?

The ‘Obamacare’ insurance exchanges got off to a rocky start, with many websites meant to provide new access to the uninsured seeing delays or breakdowns.

Benefits advisers for government contractors say employees will be impacted in the way of retirement savings and more.

Some brokers are eager to start enrollment on Oct. 1 and others want to wait and see what happens, but either way, no one expects people to be knocking down their doors on the first day.

The degree of success will be how well the industry does in solving the “annuity puzzle.”

While the shutdown won’t stop the roll-out, which is largely funded through mandatory appropriations that can’t be curtailed by congressional inaction, it’s an open question whether it will lessen public enthusiasm to enroll.

Customer satisfaction with traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacies continues to outpace satisfaction with mail-order pharmacies, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Pharmacy Study.

Small businesses won’t be able to enroll in new online health insurance marketplaces until Nov. 1 in most U.S. states, the latest delay for the Obama administration’s signature health care law.

Creating a smart consumer takes more than health care reform and adopting a consumer-driven health plan.

Pharmacy benefit management specialists say that as prices skyrocket, more and more employers will narrow pharmacies and prescriptions for their employees.

Greg Kasten’s outside-the-box thinking and success rate at getting employees truly on track for retirement made him the ideal candidate for this year’s award.

EBA Retirement columnist John Ludwig on how employers can expand on current procedures to create a comprehensive retirement communication strategy.

To be one or not to be one? That is the question for all brokers.

Coverage remains low for this staple benefit so it’s time to seize the opportunity.

Advantages abound for the outside-the-box retirement adviser and willing clients who are serious about savings.

These omnipresent retirement vehicles may need to be turned upside down.

Benefit Advisors Network partners with Liazon; traction may take time.

The inflection point in a decision over whether to terminate pensions appears to be on the horizon.

The Top 5 things driving the sales process with most plan sponsors this year.

Largely lost in the furor have been the ways in which employers could potentially benefit from the ACA and the launch of the new public health insurance exchanges, starting six days from now on October 1.