Voluntary benefits

Commentary: Voluntary benefits used to be nice-to-have, now they are must-have benefits, says columnist Nelson Griswold. To sell voluntary to the client, don’t ask, tell.

As interest increases in employers offering voluntary benefits, a particularly large number of employers are beginning to add a more robust range of voluntary benefits to improve morale of existing employees and attract new talent.

myEdGPS helps working parents of special needs children map out an education plan for their child and offers guidance on how to access certain services through school systems, leading to tangible savings on health care costs for employers and health plans.

For U.S.-based multinational companies, administering and communicating benefit plans in multiple countries – each with its own regulatory regime and unique workplace culture – is no simple task.

As private exchange providers introduce voluntary benefit offerings, how will broker commissions be affected?

While online training and development courses may have a bad rap for being mundane, new strides are being taken to create more innovative and engaging programs with a focus on human achievement.

MetLife was deemed systemically important by a panel of regulators, a decision that would subject the biggest U.S. life insurer to stricter Federal Reserve oversight.

Employees aren’t shouting from the roof over how great their employer-sponsored benefits are. In fact, satisfaction is sitting at some of the lowest levels since 2008, according to new data released from Unum.

Commentary: Companies across America are scrambling to discover the secret formula for engaging the millennial generation with their benefits. Blogger Matt Burns unveils a few tips on how benefit advisers can help.

Most Americans value life insurance as a means to financial wellbeing. Life insurance month reminds brokers to make that connection.

New data reveals only 46% of middle-market consumers have individual life insurance, and that more than three quarters of consumers age 25-64 say they would benefit from more close guidance from financial services professionals in adding that important voluntary benefit.

Millennials took a big financial hit during the recession, with wounds that are still fresh and unlikely to heal quickly, and a growing, under-utilized industry is hoping to build some new momentum.

With increased CFO involvement in health care and benefit decision-making, benefit managers are under more scrutiny than ever before to ensure they efficiently manage their health and benefits vendor relationships.

Many benefit managers – especially those at smaller companies – have never had to help an employee with an accommodation at work or help chart their path back to work after a disability leave.

Commentary: In this digital information age, it’s imperative to closely guard personal information. If you pay attention to the news, you’re familiar with the concept of identity theft, the potential loss of financial information. However, there’s a new emerging type of identity theft — medical identity theft — and it can literally kill you. Here’s how your employees can protect themselves.

Sharla St. Rose, director of voluntary benefits at NFP Corporate Services, shares her passion for the product lines and why all brokers need to educate themselves on these benefits

Commentary: Blogger Rich Williams discusses how voluntary benefits can pay back big returns for your small employer clients in terms of employee retention and recruitment.

Commentary: Advisers are selling more voluntary benefits than in previous years, but as the number of employers considering these benefits in 2015 increases, ask yourself, are you prepared to sell these products and meet client needs?

The costs of complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act are already large enough, but small employers must be vigilant of huge legal costs associated with inappropriate terminations.

As the part-time workforce in America expands, a growing number of employers are considering voluntary benefit packages as a recruitment and retention tool not only for full-time staff, but their variable hour employees, as well.