Employee benefits

More than half of Americans with individual market health insurance coverage in 2010 were enrolled in so-called "tin" plans, which provide less coverage than the lowest "bronze"-level plans in the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not be able to be offered in the health insurance exchanges that are being created under the law, according to a Commonwealth Fund. The analysis suggests that once the state-based exchanges — set up to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to shop for health insurance — go into effect in 2014, many of these Americans will be able to purchase plans that offer better coverage. In addition, many will be eligible for premium subsidies that will help offset the cost of the plans.

Controlling employer costs for health care benefits is a top priority among finance executives, according to a new study.

More executives of U.S. companies are concerned with reducing the cost of employee benefits excluding health care, according to a new report released by Prudential Financial and CFO Research services last week.

Nearly three in four Americans say they are concerned about their ability to support themselves should they become unable to work due to a disability.

Pharmaceutical companies, which were spared some of the more sweeping regulations in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, could come under more pressure if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the 2010 law.

New findings from Tiburon Strategic Advisors reveal some interesting facts about advisers’ appetite, or lack thereof, for headline grabbing products such as alternatives and exchange-traded funds.

Financial advisers are so uncomfortable speaking about life insurance that more than half (56%) simply don’t do it, according to a recent survey by consultancy Saybrus Partners Inc.

More than 75% of health care incentives are so small or poorly communicated that they go unnoticed by providers. As a result, more than $20 billion in incentives may be wasted annually, according to a study.

At least one-third of surveyed full-time workers lack long-term disability insurance, according to a new report that sheds light on an opportunity for brokers. Employees need education to protect their financial wellbeing and to better understand the risks they face and how they can choose the right coverage through the workplace.

Workplace flexibility practices are a business imperative that help employees meet their work and life responsibilities and help employers respond to the competitive global marketplace, the Society for Human Resource Management president told Congress today.

The average cost of care for a typical family receiving health care through an employer-sponsored PPO plan in 2012 will cost $20,728, a 6.9% increase over 2011. Though this is the lowest rate of increase in 12 years, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319. This is according to the Milliman Medical Index.

With the movement from traditional paid leave plans to paid time off banks, many employers may wonder if the switch is effective in managing employee absences. Nearly one in five employees in the United States receive leave in the form of a PTO bank, but the contours of such policies are often little understood — especially outside of the human resources community, according to a new study out by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and CLASP, a nonprofit that works to improve the economic security of low-income families.

Employers want to step up programs to encourage healthier behavior among their workers and to control spending on expensive injected specialty medicines, according to a survey by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co.

At the height of the financial market meltdown in 2008, Leviton — a global manufacturer of electrical wiring equipment — became concerned about employees going into panic mode and either stopping contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan or, even worse, withdrawing money that was already in the plan. It was during that time the company, which has 10,000 employees worldwide, started thinking about auto-enrollment.

Following a pair of bear markets, advisers know the days of buy-and-hold investors with 60/40 portfolio allocations are over.

The New York Department of Financial Services has issued a mandate requiring New York life insurers to search the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File every three months in order to find beneficiaries of the recently deceased who are unaware they are eligible for benefits.

The Obama administration forged ahead with health care reforms on Wednesday, announcing a November 16 deadline for state governments to submit proposals showing how they intend to operate health insurance exchanges in 2014.

Jean Coyle, 67, has a new kind of ministry. The former professor had just begun a career as a Presbyterian minister in Virginia when the economic downturn forced her church to let her go in 2007. After that, she found only temporary work.

Half of Americans say they aren’t contributing to a retirement plan, but more specifically 56% of Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to be among those not saving, according to a recent LIMRA survey.

During the Great Recession, many companies not only halted hiring, but relocating employees.