Employee Benefit Adviser articles from June 2009

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from June 2009

Having it both ways.(Editorial)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert Whiddon, Editor -In-Chief There is a certain amount of schizophrenia in the market surrounding the possibility of a public plan. On the one hand, many critics of the move say it'll put everyone else out of business. On the...

Bolster employee retirement benefits by making statements comprehensible; Employees won't get the most out of their 401(k) plans if they can't understand them.(Retirement)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Kathleen Koster When it comes to their retirement benefits and saving for their golden years, employees are discouraged and desperately need help, many experts agree. Research from I-Pension shows that 27% of workers admit they do...

Market pressures spur more advisers to examine discount card programs; It's not just vision and dental. It's golf, it's auto assist, it's just about everything - and that's got some enterprising advisers excited about new opportunities for adding value as employers continue to shift costs and shrink benefits.(Voluntary)(Column)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert L. Whiddon Charlie McLamb is just like you. "I'm running into the same thing everybody else is with the bad economy," says the owner of Charlotte, N.C.'s Southern Benefit Plans. "People are saying, 'Well I can't continue...

Carriers, advisers seek to tailor disability plans to help fit the times; While it is true that grocery bills trump insurance premiums for many American workers, some benefit advisers say the economic downturn is driving a voluntary surge.(Voluntary)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Elizabeth Galentine Last summer, Jim Posey polled a client with 600 employees on their voluntary disability participation. Thirty percent were signed up. After the economic turmoil of the fall, that same group plummeted to 4%...

LTC carriers giveth, and they also taketh away.(Voluntary)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert L. Whiddon Experts say that the long-term care insurance market will remain terra infirma for benefit brokers and other policy purveyors as carriers introduce new products and modify existing programs. "We don't have any...

That which gets measured gets done.(Your Business)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Rob Nielsen Or as my old Army flight crew chief always said before I would pre-flight my helicopter, "Captain, if it isn't inspected, it's neglected." This last month has been rife with news about what the government wants to...

How well do you understand your client's business? That's how To stand out right now. If you really understand your client's needs, the value of the products and services you provide will become apparent.(Your Business)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jack Kwicien The first half of 2009 is drawing to a close, and many of us are looking forward to vacation. Who could blame us given the unprecedented events that have occurred and the tumultuous changes in the marketplace. I hope...

If you haven't looked, then you don't know.(Your Business)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Rob Lieblein To sell or not to sell? That (to borrow from "the Bard") is the million-dollar question for many benefits advisers right now. Agency owners are at a crossroads when it comes to answering this question. Issues like...

Research says focus on productivity; Lots of people talk about how smart benefit designs can cut employer costs, but an emerging line of thinking shows that the focus should be on how benefit strategies can grow your business.(Movers & Shakers)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert L. Whiddon In March, we learned that coordinated care isn't all it's cracked up to be. In April, a notable Harvard physician told lawmakers that prevention actually costs more money, not less. Now we're learning that just...

Change the conversation.(Sales Call)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Mel Schlesinger The basic theme for 2009 has been that these are challenging times for insurance agents selling group health insurance products. Premiums have risen steadily and the economy has dealt many of your clients a...

Interoperability is the key to ensure the billions for health IT are well spent.(Tips on Technology)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Leah Carlson Shepherd This year's federal stimulus bill included a $19.5 billion investment in health information technology. It extends incentive payments to doctors and hospitals that buy and use electronic medical records, with...

Benefits aren't going anywhere; Offering international services seems like a good idea to McMullen, just watch who you partner with. Meanwhile, she likes the prospect of a new approach to dental benefits - with a network to back it up.(Sound Off)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Michelle McMullen A handful of articles grabbed my attention in May. Some made alot of sense to me and some others didn't quite match my experience up in here in the Pacific Northwest. For instance, I don't know about other...

Training makes tech investments pay off.(Tips on Technology)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Craig J. Davidson In the early 1990s I had the opportunity to invent one of the first value-added sales technologies for group insurance brokers in the country. As our company ramped up, we sold 20 new benefit groups for our home...

Be more valuable to your clients, be more like a benefits director.(Be Advised)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Donna, Joseph and Pete Tobiason Let's face it. For many of your clients, you are their Benefits Director. And there's never been a time when they needed you more. This brings both opportunity and responsibility. Fortune 200...

An Entirely Different Animal; Massachusetts took a stab at health care reform and it seems advisers didn't get gored. But as the national effort heats up, our panel of Bay State brokers says there's a good chance that this time they won't emerge unscathed.(Cover Story)(Discussion)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert L. Whiddon, Photographer Tim Gray Benefits brokers and advisers across the country are carefully tracking Capitol Hill as the White House and Democratic lawmakers are confident that 2009 is the year for significant health...

Have Options, will travel; The popularity of medical tourism is increasing exponentially as people seek lower prices for medical procedures. Adjust plan designs accordingly.(Feature Story)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Elizabeth Galentine, Illustration Kate Miller A year and a half ago, Dr. Edward Watson started Medtral New Zealand, a medical tourism service, in his home country after his experience working with clinical trials there and in...

Bummed out: Corporate bailouts putting the brakes on executive comp.(Feature Story)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Richard Stolz, Illustration Andrew Pinkham The CEO may still be able to keep the jet, but it'll be harder to justify. The government's effort to help struggling companies has other companies reconsidering what's prudent when it...

Bloggin'; If it's on benefits, it's on our blog.(On The Web)
June 1, 2009... Visit benefitsexplained.blogspot.com and watch as we talk to brokers and advisers, policy experts and Washington insiders about the latest information affecting the industry. Listen to Kathryn Wilber of the American Benefits Council as she...

E-learning; Did you make the most of May?(On The Web)
June 1, 2009... Remember it was disability insurance awareness month. That means there were lots of programs and outreach efforts designed to give working Americans a better understanding of how disability coverage works and why it is so important. Did you...

Raw Bar's Best Bite.(On The Web)(Survey)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Will Aflac's new approach fly with brokers? Ron Agypt thinks so. Listen in as Aflac's broker relations chief talks about what the company's been doing to remake itself in the eyes of advisers. The worksite...

Who knows what the future holds?(By The Numbers)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff No one knows for sure, but more and more Americans say it's not looking good for employer-sponsored benefits. Research from Fidelity Investment Consulting Services, among others, shows strong percentages of...

Plan designs help advisers connect wellness circuitry for small clients; Some say simple program changes can work for small clients. Others insist underlying funding structures will continue to mute the impact of wellness.(Health)(Ameriflex)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Robert l. Whiddon In conjunction with a recent EBA Web seminar on "wellness that works," we asked participating benefit advisers and plan managers who has the easier road to wellness success, small companies or large companies? ...

Advisers won't wait for wellness help.(Health)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Elizabeth Galentine Among the slate of bills being reintroduced in Congress is the Healthy Workforce Act of 2009, which proposes a 10-year tax credit to employers covering up to 50% of the costs associated with establishing a...

Holistic approaches pay off for all involved.(Retirement)(Pension Protection Act of 2006)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Fred Barstein The most important aspect of a retirement plan is guiding participants toward a successful retirement. Retirement advisers' role has morphed from finding and selecting the right product to instituting the right...