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Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]
The DOL issued a regulation expanding multi-employer retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The rule is aimed at expanding access to saving options by clarifying the circumstances under which an employer group or association or professional employment organization may sponsor a multiple employer workplace retirement plan.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute looked at spending patterns of older households and found that spending varies upon whether the households are singles or couples, or whether they are in retirement or currently working.
The Senate will wait until after the August recess to vote on a health care bill that would require health benefits brokers to disclose their commissions, The Hill reported today. The Lower Health Care Costs Act was introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Employees at small businesses are less likely to have disability insurance than those who work for larger employers, a Guardian Life study showed. The vast majority (92%) of Americans who have DI acquired it through their employer, Guardian said. And fewer Americans own DI, with an 11% drop in the percentage of those who have the product – from 65% in 2017 to 54% in 2018.
It’s graduation season and, along with finding their first real-world jobs, new grads need help managing their finances. Managing money remains the most daunting challenge for college students, with nearly half of college students (47%) saying they do not feel prepared to manage their money.
The 10th annual Northwestern Mutual Planning and Progress study shows that Americans learned some lessons from the recession and used those lessons to work on improving their financial security – in particular, carrying less debt.
Commissions are not the reason health care costs are so high, representatives of two health insurance agents groups told InsuranceNewsNet.
Health benefits brokers would be subject to disclosure requirements as part of a sweeping health care bill introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Although the government shutdown is a well-known example of a disruption in income, it’s more likely that Americans will see their income grind to a halt as a result of an illness or disability. So why aren’t they lining up to buy disability insurance?
Workers who are sidelined by illness or injury are often more worried about their financial health than they are about their physical health, a Cigna survey revealed. More than half (52%) of survey respondents who did not have DI said it took them more than two years to recover financially.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, discussed the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act during a briefing at the start of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Congressional Conference. More than 600 NAIFA members are in Washington for this annual event.
Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors are urging Congress to enact a package that would help workers better prepare for retirement. NAIFA members are in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday for their annual political advocacy event.
George Nichols began his tenure as The American College’s president and CEO on Nov. 1 after a 17-year career with New York Life. He wants to see the school expand by breaking out of its insurance niche and focusing on financial services.
Voluntary benefits do more than fill in the gaps left by traditional health insurance. They can be part of a worker’s holistic protection plan. And with more workers facing higher out-of-pocket medical expenses, voluntary benefits can help cover those unexpected costs.
The results of a study showed that a high percentage of workers are experiencing mental health issues in the workplace but are afraid to disclose them to their employers.
A disability insurance provider released the results of a study that showed employee absence and disability are costing companies an average of $800,000 a year.
Nearly half of single parents with children under age 18 don’t have life insurance, and the majority of them say the reason they don’t have coverage is because they believe it’s too expensive, a survey said.
Six insurance industry professional associations and four life insurance carriers have joined forces to address issues that affect the industry. The leadership teams of the associations have been meeting regularly since 2016 to discuss “what we might be able to do in the spirit of better communication, collaboration and ultimately perhaps even consolidation,” said Warren May of Principal Financial.
As the 2018 income tax filing season heads down its final stretch, many Americans are finding themselves with surprise tax bills. One area that can lead to unwanted surprises come tax season is required minimum distributions.
African-Americans view life insurance as more than a means to pay for final expenses. They are increasingly looking to life insurance as a way to transfer wealth and leave a legacy, according to a New York Life study.
Lawmakers are proposing legislation to stabilize the Affordable Care Act insurance market, make coverage more affordable for consumers, and improve access to care by leveraging the bargaining power and administrative savings of public programs.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors conducted its first comprehensive membership survey in nearly a decade. Among the findings are that members are offering more products and services than ever before, while still receiving the bulk of their income from commissions instead of fees.
A Partnership for America’s Health Care Future spokeswoman calls single-payer health care a one-size-fits-all system that would give consumers less choice and control over their doctors, treatments and coverage. It would mean higher taxes, long wait times and lower quality of care.
Consumers covered under single-payer plans frequently experience long wait times to access care. In addition, the governments of most single-payer countries are heavily involved in setting the price of care, especially prescription drugs.
Polls show that an estimated 35 percent of voters “will vote for Trump no matter what,” Charlie Cook said, 45 percent “will never vote for him in a million years” and 20 percent are in the middle. The votes of that 20 percent group are up for grabs in 2020 but Trump is not going after this group.
Nearly 700 health insurance and benefits advisors from across the nation will travel to Washington to meet with members of Congress. In addition, NAHU members will hear from industry experts, members of Congress and members of the Trump administration as they look at the future for health care reform.
More than one quarter of the 800,000 federal employees who were affected by the federal government shutdown withdrew money from their retirement funds to help make it through the 35 days in which they did not see a paycheck, according to a Prudential study.
Parents are prioritizing debt reduction at the expense of long-term financial planning, a survey showed. A New York Life survey found that 72 percent of parents identify debt reduction as a top financial priority for 2019. That number is even higher for millennial parents (ages 18-34), with 80 percent planning to focus on debt reduction this year.
A study of health insurance marketplaces in 10 states showed more insurers participated in the exchanges and premium increases began to level off. Researchers found that insurers were more willing to enter new markets in time for the 2019 enrollment season, a big change from 2018.
One in five caregivers – an estimated 15 million people – is “unbanked,” meaning they do not have a savings or checking account at an insured banking institution, LIMRA research found.
High-deductible health plans are going the way of corporate wellness programs and disease management programs – consumers don’t like them and are pushing back against them, says one health care expert. Benefits brokers are going to have to evolve much like stockbrokers did 20 years ago.
States are expected to pick up the ball on regulation after a December federal court decision ruled the Affordable Care Act “invalid.” A judge determined that the 2017 tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under the health care bill by eliminating the individual mandate penalty.
High out-of-pocket health care costs and the future of the Affordable Care Act dominated the health news in 2018. As the population continues to age and the cost of providing care to that aging population continues to be a concern, readers also were interested in developments to the LTCi market.
A LIMRA study shows unpaid family caregivers are falling short in their insurance needs. But how does the industry reach this time-stressed and resource-stressed group?
Consumers may go online to get information about life insurance, but advice from an agent is still a big part of the insurance-buying process. That was the word from Deloitte’s annual Insurance Industry Outlook for 2019.
Holistic planning and financial wellness are two of the themes that life insurance agents can expect to see in their business in 2019, according to an industry analyst. The challenge for agents is “How do I continue to do what I’m really good at – life insurance – but also be more for my client?”
To improve affordability for those who buy their own coverage, America’s Health Insurance Plans is offering 12 new policies that federal or state leaders can implement to drive down premiums, increase participation in the marketplace, and offer savings to consumers.
With control of Congress divided between Democrats and Republicans, the efforts to reform health care will shift to the states over the next two years, a panel of consultants said.
Expect “repeal and replace” to be a thing of the past now that Democrats will control the House. The advantage for agents and brokers is that they can tell their clients with certainty that no major changes to the law are expected any time soon, one analyst says.
The vast majority of consumers who find a financial task difficult don’t seek help. This opens an opportunity for financial professionals to help ease their pain, a study says.
When it comes to figuring out retirement income and how to manage finances in the post-employment years, there is a big difference between pre-retirees and retirees. More than half – 56 percent – of pre-retirees said they frequently worried about their finances while only 36 percent of retirees said they did.
Cannex researchers found that the highest guaranteed income product varies significantly depending on the client – whether a man or a woman, a single person or a couple – as well as when income begins. Advisors need to rely on real analytics, one researcher said.
It’s that time of year when employees sit in conference rooms, listening to presentations on enrolling in voluntary benefits for the coming year. Eighty percent of people don’t talk about insurance or finances with anyone, MetLife researchers found. The company wants to change that fact.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is establishing the NAIFA Limited and Extended Care Planning Center to provide to meet consumers’ growing needs for advice and solutions in navigating longevity.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors began the process of paring down its structure from 550 local associations….
Health insurance and benefits’ brokers can help their group clients save money by finding ways to cut the cost of their employees’ care. That might be the way forward amid health care uncertainty.
Even though Congressional Republican leadership said it has moved on from repealing the Affordable Care Act, a coalition of conservative groups compiled their own plan to repeal the health care law.
Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors visited Congress as midterm fever sweeps Washington.
In the wake of shrinking membership and difficulty finding local leaders, member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors voted today to implement a bylaws change affecting the way its 52 state associations and 550 local associations conduct business.
Wells Fargo is the target of a Department of Labor probe on whether the bank has been pushing its customers to take their money out of low-cost corporate 401(k) plans and roll their holdings into more expensive individual retirement accounts at the bank, The Wall Street Journal reported.
NAIFA needs to adapt and become more nimble in order to reverse membership losses that go back decades, CEO Kevin Mayeux told the Pennsylvania chapter Monday.
Walmart is in talks to acquire Humana, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Federal policy uncertainty drove health insurers to implement significant premium increases for Affordable Care Act policies in 2018, according to a new report which predicts higher prices and more insurer withdrawals from the individual market in 2019.
Republicans in Congress were unable to abolish the Affordable Care Act, so a group of 20 states is filing suit in an attempt to declare the ACA unconstitutional.
A single payer health care system is not a one size fits all system. Here is a breakdown of how it looks in different nations around the world.
Health insurance underwriters seek a stable market and are positioning themselves as essential guides to help Americans understand their health care choices.
One advisor is finding success selling long-term care insurance to millennials who want to make sure their parents have access to care if they need it.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into MetLife’s failure to pay some workers’ pensions as the insurer announced it will postpone its fourth-quarter and full year 2017 earnings report.
In another move toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule to expand the offering of small business health plans, also known as association health plans.
Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and issues related to health care reform dominated the national news in 2017, InsuranceNewsNet readers were more interested in learning about other topics relating to health insurance during the past year.
