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A leading group of U.S. doctors is trying to tackle the costly problem of excessive medical testing, hoping to avoid more government intervention in how they practice.
February 21 -
Last month we discussed the importance of analyzing your clients to determine those with which you have the greatest success and satisfaction and those that were less profitable and suck the energy out of you. As discussed last month, for us it was working with middle market, entrepreneurial service companies. Our challenges were twofold: What to do with the clients that no longer fit our business model? How to expand our target markets opportunities?
February 21
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Enrollment in health savings accounts and heath reimbursement arrangements continues to grow, but contribution patterns to these account-based health plans are changing, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.
February 16 -
Nine in 10 life insurers surveyed recently are meeting producer demands with mobile technology initiatives, according to a new report issued by LIMRA, a worldwide research, consulting and professional development organization.
February 16 -
Insurers have spent years and years enduring negative criticism. Consumers may be changing their tune, at least according to 10,000 U.S. consumers surveyed for the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings.
February 15 -
As more benefits advisers struggle to articulate their value proposition to their clients and prospects, many are realizing that being the access point to products is not the differentiating value that clients want or expect. Personally I have not thought that was the case for more than a decade. Clearly our clients need our advice, expertise and counsel. But given all the competition that exists, especially in the mid- to large-case market, that’s not enough in
February 15 -
Financial advisers have turned decidedly more optimistic about the markets prospects for 2012, according to an SEI Quick Poll. Nine in 10 of the advisers surveyed in early February, including bank advisors, say they expect a positive return for the S&P 500 in 2012, up 18% from a similar survey conducted in mid-January. More than six in 10, 63%, predicted gains greater than 5%, a sentiment that spread dramatically from just three weeks ago.
February 14 -
Six federal agencies have issued a final rule requiring insurers to provide to consumers at the time of enrollment a plain-English summary of benefits and coverage, and a uniform glossary of terms.
February 14 -
When it comes to creative, non-traditional benefits no idea is a bad idea. EBA contributor George Lane shares why your creativity could be the most valuable asset you can bring to your clients.
February 14 -
Despite evidence that younger investors are well-positioned to benefit from long-term retirement savings less than half (45%) plan to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account for the 2011 tax year, according to research.
February 13 -
Question: Employer Group Waiver Plans seem pretty complicated. Is it really worthwhile for brokers and agents to put this tool in their box of options for employers who have retiree drug coverage?
February 13 -
Outsourcing is still very much alive as a tried-and-true strategy for insurers hoping to increase productivity without increasing overhead. Such is but one of the findings of a new report issued by New York-based research and consulting firm Novarica.
February 9 -
Pension plan sponsors view controlling funded status volatility as the top priority for their organizations for the third year in a row, according to an SEI Quick Poll.
February 9 -
A growing number of younger participants in 401(k) retirement plans are investing in target-date funds, according to a recent analysis. Using data from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that the percentage of recently hired 401(k) participants with two or fewer years of tenure holding TDFs jumped from 43.6% in 2008 to 46.6% in 2009 increasing slightly to 47.6% in 2010.
February 8 -
Employers share some of the blame for rising health care costs, but they also have the ability to dramatically cut those costs with a few simple steps, according to a speaker at the 2012 Employer Health & Human Capital Congress in Washington.
February 8 -
As the challenges mount for benefits advisers to prove their value to clients, one of the main questions I think we should consider is can we help HR? And if so, how? What are the solutions that help HR be more effective to their organizations? Is it possible that benefits advisers might be able to help HR have a more strategic “seat at the table”?
February 8 -
Common sense seems to be in short supply these days, especially when it comes to application of the rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Here’s a case in point: we’ve heard that some accountants have made the Act’s so-called Cadillac Tax a focus point of their current accounting protocol for retiree health plans.
February 7 -
Almost all employees who participate in one-on-one benefits counseling sessions during enrollment say they have a greater understanding of their employer-sponsored benefits.
February 6 -
Big shifts may be coming in how retirement plans are managed after the the Labor Department Thursday announced the final version of its rules under Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA, which require broker dealers disclose their services and fees to plan sponsors for individual plans.
February 3 -
The U.S. Labor Department has removed a controversial part of its proposed 401(k) fee disclosure rule that would have required retirement plan providers to create a summary document, or "roadmap," of all their fees for employers.
February 3
