Voluntary benefits

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?

Commentary: Innovative technology is eliminating payroll deduction as the method of choice for collecting voluntary benefits premium, sounding the death knell for payroll deduction, says Nelson Griswold.

Employees fear the financial impact of a critical illness more than dying from one. Take advantage of the growing popularity of this voluntary benefit today.

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) has changed the way your clients manage their employees’ disability leaves. The Standard has found five mistakes employers may make when considering ADAAA accommodations.

Is now the time to offer accident or critical insurance along with other traditional benefit enrollments? With the uncertainty facing the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate and the high costs associated with these medical claims, new research from MetLife finds that communication of these voluntary benefits will help with employee productivity and cost savings.

Blogger Vinnie Daboul on how to get clients to seek you out for advice — not just to place a transaction.