Voluntary benefits

Advisers say employers are increasingly purchasing voluntary dental plans as an effort to cut costs, meet new ACA requirements and retain employees.

Commentary: Columnist Mel Schlesinger contends that most brokers aren't actually selling the non-medical insurance products that could help clients and their employees. Simply including them in a proposal is not enough, he says.

The IRS last week issued Notice 2014-19, which sets forth the rules for recognition of same-sex spouses in retirement plan administration. Here's what employers need to know.

MetLife has launched a new voluntary life insurance product aimed at baby boomers nearing retirement.

Commentary: While voluntary sales continue to rise, billing for these products is turning into a mess, says blogger Tinker Kelly. The concept of self-billing, explained here, can fix this.

Advisers and employers can use education to boost the enrollment of millennials in voluntary disability programs

Current regulations don’t require a retirement plan provider’s investment advice be in the best interest of plan participants, but most employers want that to change, an AARP study finds.

Would the millions of employees who clearly need more life insurance as a voluntary benefit be better served by a new private insurance exchange, not unlike the new system for health care benefits?

Although U.S. workers on a whole are more satisfied with their current financial situation than in years past, most (58%) remain concerned about financial stability in retirement and say they plan to continue working until age 70 or later, a new Towers Watson survey shows.

Voluntary benefit sales are enjoying rapid growth as employers prepare for the impact of the Affordable Care Act by revamping their medical plan designs to include more products such as accident and critical illness benefits.

While it’s difficult to discuss your eventual death with those you love, it’s imperative to plan for it, not only for your sake, but for theirs. Employers can offer several voluntary benefits to help make this end-of-life planning and transition easier for their employees and the loved ones they leave behind.

Commentary: Online enrollment that gets participation in voluntary benefits as good as or better than one-on-one enrollment meetings at the worksite — while letting brokers keep twice as much of the voluntary commission. Is it possible? Columnist Nelson Griswold explains.

A panel including a security specialist and FTC privacy staffer talked Monday at an American Payroll Association meeting about common mistakes employers make with their employees’ personal data and what the right make-up of a privacy team at a company should look like.

While most people understand the need for medical and dental insurance, the value of voluntary benefits is less understood. That’s why advisers should be selling them as “financial protection,” says one voluntary sales expert.

Employees who experienced negative interactions with their manager had a decreased sense of connection with their employer – and were less motivated to return to work following a disability.

Millennials' lower net worth, combined with a mindset that a disabling condition will never happen to them, makes them ideal candidates for disability insurance.

A large part of the millennial population is still cooped up in their parent’s basements, but more are saying they are growing up by making more financial decisions following their first job. This blooming adult group, however, is missing out on the benefits of protecting their health through voluntary insurance, according to new survey findings from The Hartford.

Employers offering spousal benefits are more likely to attract new employees and retain the ones they already have, a new study from staffing firm Spherion shows.

Employees with ready access to mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, prefer accessing employee benefit and pay information using mobile apps rather than using their desktops and laptop computers, an ADP Research Institute Study shows.

Industry onlookers are saying that the voluntary exemption in the Affordable Care Act will do little to improve dental health across the nation as projections point to federal and health exchanges doing little to lower costs for Americans. However, can private dental exchanges and savings plans help to fill this void?