Retirement & Benefits

Best Practices

4 Ways to Cut Spending on Inappropriate Healthcare

Emily Payne | September 12, 2018

Unnecessary healthcare services cost the industry $750 billion annually. For employers looking to bring their healthcare spending into check, this is a good place to start.

Analysis

Would Open MEPs Disrupt the 401(k) Plan Market?

Nick Thornton | September 04, 2018

Existing sponsors of single plans would see annual audit expenses slashed if they join a MEP.

CFOs Say More Increases in 401(k) Matches Are Coming

Emily Payne | August 09, 2018

The corporate tax cut and a tighter labor market are translating to higher wages (finally).

Analysis

Employers Need to Take a Strategic Look at Workers’ Well-being

Katie Kuehner-Hebert | June 28, 2018

To recruit and retain workers, employers need to demonstrate a genuine interest in their employees’ well-being.

Analysis

Is Your Company Culture Undermining Employee Productivity?

Marlene Satter | June 11, 2018

Employers are making life harder, not easier, for their workers through “antiquated attitudes” about time off, productivity, and workloads.

Social Security Trust Fund to Run out of Cash by 2034

Nick Thornton | June 06, 2018

Death spiral begins this year, as costs will outstrip revenue.

News

Millennials Driving Employer Adoption of Benefits Tech

Joel Kranc | May 25, 2018

A new survey from Guardian Life shows that employers want to provide benefits in a way that best suits their changing workforce.

News

Is Obamacare Dead? No One Told the IRS.

Marlene Satter | May 07, 2018

The individual mandate may be gone, but the employer mandate is still in play, and the IRS is cracking down.

Research

Employers Upping the Ante on Employee Wellness Programs

Marlene Satter | May 03, 2018

Not only are companies planning to expand existing programs, but they’re increasing incentives to entice workers to buy into such programs.

Analysis

IRS Provides Details on Family Leave Tax Credit, but Guidance Still Lacking

Jack Craver | April 27, 2018

Employers may claim a tax credit for a certain percentage of their employees’ wages, but there is a long list of qualifications attached.

Expert Opinion

Collapse of Pension Funds Isn't a Distant Prospect

Aaron Brown | April 19, 2018

Opinion from former managing director and head of financial market research at AQR Capital Management: Public pensions can no longer kick the can down the road.

Analysis

Premiums, Uninsured Going up Under Trump Administration ACA Changes

Jack Craver | February 28, 2018

Recent revisions to the Affordable Care Act are going to make health insurance more expensive for those purchasing plans through the ACA exchanges, according to a study by the Urban Institute.

Analysis

IRI Backs 401(k) Mandate for Employers

Nick Thornton | February 22, 2018

Congressional support for retirement policies is at an all-time high.

News

Push to Take Politics out of Healthcare

Zachary Tracer, Bloomberg | February 07, 2018

“The reality is that there are tons of details that almost everyone agrees on, we just don’t focus on them. Public sentiment is fairly well unified in ways that Washington isn’t."

Analysis

Americans’ Retirement Preparedness on Upswing

Michael S. Fischer | February 06, 2018

Still, half of savers are at risk of not meeting essential retirement expenses in a downturn.

Analysis

Large-Employer Benefit Trends in 2018

Dan Cook | January 30, 2018

Offering more choices to employees appears to be driving the benefits trend.

News

Trump Signs ACA Tax Blocker Bill

Allison Bell | January 24, 2018

The ACA blockers are part of the anti-government shutdown bill.

Analysis

2020 Tax on High-Cost Healthcare Getting Closer

Susan Kelly | January 18, 2018

Businesses want Congress to repeal the Cadillac tax, but the price tag may be too steep.

News

DOL Cracks Down on Employment Law Violations

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro | January 09, 2018

Labor Department hikes the penalties employers must pay by an average of 2%.

News

Trump Administration Health-Care Rule Would Let Small Firms Act Like Big Ones

Zachary Tracer and Josh Eidelson, Bloomberg | January 04, 2018

Proposed rule would let small businesses band together under association health plans.

News

Will Businesses Fight the ACA’s Employer Mandate?

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro | January 03, 2018

Companies argue that federal and most state exchanges havent followed the rules set out in the statute and regulations and therefore cant levy fines.

News

Aflac Doubles 401(k) Match After Tax Overhaul

Nick Thornton, BenefitsPro | December 29, 2017

Insurer says it will boost its 401(k) match from 50% to 100% of the first 4% employees defer.

News

MetLife's Failure to Pay Workers' Pensions Is Under Scrutiny

Emily Zulz, ThinkAdvisor | December 19, 2017

Insurer disclosed in filing that it failed to pay monthly pension benefits to some retirees.

News

Big Business Loves Sick Days Legislation

Jeff Green and Rebecca Greenfield, Bloomberg | November 28, 2017

House bill establishing national policy would exempt companies from tougher state, local rules.

News

Rising Employer Premiums Drive More Cuts to Health Benefits

Katie Kuehner-Hebert, BenefitsPro | November 01, 2017

Companies respond by continuing to pass costs onto workers and reducing their prescription drug coverage.

News

Employers Challenged by IRS Reporting Related to ACA

Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor | October 30, 2017

Companies have a hard time getting accurate Social Security numbers for employees' family members.

News

Trump Rejects Idea of Capping 401(k) Savings

Toluse Olorunnipa, Bloomberg | October 23, 2017

Republicans had been considering lowering the annual deduction to offset other tax cuts.

News

Fund Industry Ready to Battle Changes to 401(k) Tax Treatment

Miles Weiss, Bloomberg | October 23, 2017

Rothification would require people to fund 401(k)s or IRAs with after-tax earnings.

News

Employers Tell Trump They Need Strong Individual Health Market

Allison Bell, LifeHealthPro | October 17, 2017

American Benefits Council asks administration to think about the small employers when it takes actions on health-care coverage.

News

DOL Boosting “Missing Participant” Retirement Plan Audits

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro | October 16, 2017

A pilot project last year put more pressure on plan administrators to find former employees—or their beneficiaries.

News

Questions Linger over Workplace Wellness Rules

Erin Mulvaney, InsideCounsel | October 09, 2017

The EEOC lost a court fight, but the Trump administration's new leadership at the agency could have an impact on the revamping of rules.

News

Benefit Plans Not Necessarily Safe From Tax Reform

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro | October 03, 2017

It's too soon for employers to breathe easy, even though the GOP plan doesn't specify employee benefit targets.

News

Deregulation Costly for Companies

Marlene Y. Satter, BenefitsPro | October 01, 2017

More than two-thirds cite a rise in the cost of compliance over the past year.

News

Boeing Stuffs Underfunded Pension Plan With Own Shares

Katherine Chiglinsky, Julie Johnsson and Brandon Kochkodin, Bloomberg | September 19, 2017

Stock transfer seen as a risky approach with shares at record high.

News

Pension Risk Transfers Surge in Second Quarter

Nick Thornton, BenefitsPro | September 08, 2017

Eighty percent of sponsors in LIMRA survey have pension funding levels below 90%.

News

Harvey’s Destruction Will Test Companies’ Pay, Leave Policies

Erin Mulvaney, InsideCounsel | September 05, 2017

Hurricane Katrina produced several major lawsuits related to leave and wage-and-hour issues.

News

Pensions Seen Yanking Up to $1T From Stocks

Sonali Basak and Katherine Chiglinsky, Bloomberg | August 31, 2017

Move from equities to bonds aims to limit plans' risks.

News

EEOC Must Revisit Workplace Wellness Rules

C. Ryan Barber, InsideCounsel | August 28, 2017

Judge rules EEOC failed to justify its 30% cap on cost incentives for workers participating in the programs.

Best Practices

10 Questions Asked at Open Enrollment Time

Caroline Marwitz | August 24, 2017

Employees want to know the answers to these questions. Employers can help make the answers easy to find.

Best Practices

Would Roth 401(k)s Lead to Lower Savings Rates?

Nick Thornton | August 16, 2017

New data emerges ahead of tax-reform debate.

News

Worsening Mortality Trend Saves Companies Money

John Tozzi, Bloomberg | August 10, 2017

Life expectancy gains have stalled, which means lower pension costs,

News

Retirement Plans May Not Be Safe From Tax Reform

Nick Thornton, BenefitsPro | August 07, 2017

Tax-preferred treatment of contributions to qualified retirement plans is still under discussion.

News

Americans’ Retirement Benefits Have Been Slashed

Ben Steverman, Bloomberg | July 19, 2017

Companies are spending less on retirement plans for their employees, and more on health-care coverage.

News

Legal Malpractice Suit on Multiemployer Pension Fund Liability Can Proceed

Marlene Y. Satter | July 06, 2017

Case revolves around the concept of controlled group liability under ERISA, in which other entities could be responsible for the withdrawal liability of a plan sponsor based on common ownership.

News

Performance Management in for a Sea Change

Marlene Y. Satter | July 06, 2017

HR teams prefer continuous performance management instead of annual reviews, but the majority of companies have yet to start the transition.

News

Interest-Rate Smoothing’s Impact on Single-Employer Pensions

Nick Thornton, BenefitsPro | July 05, 2017

Pension funding and liabilities numbers change with the controversial yet permissible accounting practice of pension smoothing.

News

UPS to Freeze Pension Plan

Mary Schlangenstein and Katherine Chiglinsky, Bloomberg | June 28, 2017

Company is closing the plan, which covers about 70,000 employees, to reduce costs.

News

Plan Sponsors Oppose Reducing Tax Incentives for Retirement Plans

Nick Thornton, BenefitsPro | June 26, 2017

Employers fear changing tax treatment of workers' 401(k) contributions could slow savings, PSCA survey shows.

News

GE’s Immelt Leaves Behind $31B Pension Deficit

Katherine Chiglinsky, Brandon Kochkodin and Richard Clough, Bloomberg | June 19, 2017

Shortfall swelled as the company spent more than $45B on share buybacks.

Best Practices

Market for Treasury, Finance Jobs Remains Competitive

Susan Kelly | June 14, 2017

Average salary gain of 3.5% in 2016, AFP survey shows