Eba-Stayingcurrent-Newsmakers

Compare candidates' small business views

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:00:00 GMT

As we move forward into peak presidential campaign season, small business owners will wish to understand in greater depth Barack Obama and John McCain's viewpoints on issues like health care, taxes, immigration, energy and the environment, and workplace reform.

VSP's Barry Shinske

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:06:00 GMT

Vision insurance isn't an extremely complicated product, in terms of the details and components that go into it. It was a refreshing change for Barry Shinske, who started out with a large HMO and then a TPA selling self-insured medical, dental and prescription plans.

Go big or go home: Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:59:00 GMT

At an age when many of his peers are either preparing for or thoroughly enjoying retirement, John Kahle is just beginning what looks like his third, final and most audacious act.

Titanic collision atop the brokerage ranks may create room, opportunity

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:45:00 GMT

Some say the Willis/HRH union will force the new entity to move further up market, revealing small and mid-market employer opportunities for the ranks of reputable independents and upstarts that could result from the mega-deal.

HR executives hope to help employees manage their finances during a recession

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:33:00 GMT

The threat of a recession loomed before employers for some time, but they were unsure how to "recession-proof" their benefit plans and, for the most part, received little guidance on the subject from benefit advisers. Now, almost overnight, businesses are dealing with the reality of an economic downturn and the challenges that come with it.

Raw Bar: Retirement automation continues to spread

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:23:00 GMT

New research from Deloitte shows that more and more employers are getting on the automation bandwagon. The number of companies with automatic enrollment has doubled in just the last few years, according to the consultancy. Automatic deferral increases are also gaining popularity. Listen in as Deloitte's Mark Dzierzak goes behind the numbers, identifying what they mean for advisers, employers and individual savers.

Raw Bar: Major employers bearish on medical tourism

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:57:00 GMT

That's just one of the themes in this week's Raw Bar. Listen in as the National Business Group on Health's Helen Darling talks about new research, detailing how major employers are smart enough to know that workers won't be rushing to fly half-way around the world for surgery, regardless how much they might save in the process.

Check out our new benefits blog!

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:37:00 GMT

We are launching a new blog at the Benefits Group called the "Daily Diversion," employeebenefitnews.blogspot.com. We're also closing out EBA's Adviser of the Year contest and the "Best" Group Vision Rep contest.

Raw Bar: Medical trend increases expected to get larger

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:58:00 GMT

The medical trend rate, while growing each year, hasn't been escalating as fast recently. For the last five years, each annual jump has been a little bit smaller than the previous one. That's expected to end in 2009. Listen in as Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, discusses the underlying fundamentals and why he thinks things will change soon. He also shares some of his thoughts and analysis on recent congressional happenings, most importantly the chamber's decision to block a 10% Medicare fee cut for doctors.

Raw Bar: Retirement readiness benchmark jumps

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:04:00 GMT

New research from Hewitt recommends workers strive to have 125% of their pre-retirement income to deal with uncertainties like health care and inflation when trying to maintain a familiar lifestyle during the "golden years." Listen in as the consultancy's Alison Borland talks about how Hewitt came to the number and what employers and advisers can do to make the figure a little less scary for workers.