- Growing Health Savings Account Balances Impact Health Care Access, Increase Spending
When consumers have more in their HSA's, they tend to use it more
Employers have adopted HSA-eligible health plans as a way to manage the cost of providing health benefits to workers and their families. HSA-eligible health plans are expected to make health plan members more cost conscious because they are paying more out of pocket than in traditional health plans.
read more - Empower Retirement lauds House approval of the SECURE Act of 2019
U.S. House of Representatives sends a strong message that retirement policy for working Americans is a top priority
Today the U.S. House of Representatives sent a message with its approval of a bill that reforms retirement policy affecting working Americans. “It’s exciting that retirement policy has garnered bipartisan support from Reps. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, and Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the committee’s ranking member, who understand the importance of…
read more - On Vacation? Unplug Already!!
Survey: Half of of professionals check in wth work multiple times a day while on holiday
As the summer vacation season kicks into high gear, a new Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) survey shows that disconnecting from the office to enjoy time with friends and family is a tall order for most professionals.
read more - Level of Financial Confidence Among Adult Children May Stem from Their Parents’ Approach to Retirement Planning
Sixty one percent say they take a different approach to finances to avoid making the same mistakes their parents made
A new survey from TIAA finds Americans who lack confidence in their parents’ financial security in retirement (27 percent) are twice as likely to lack confidence in their own retirement as those who are confident in their parents’ (72 percent versus 36 percent).
read more - U.S. Single Premium Pension Buy-out Sales Has Record First Quarter — Exceeding $4.7 Billion
Highest Q1 total in 30 Years
U.S. single premium pension buy-out product sales surpassed $4.7 billion in the first quarter 2019, an increase of 240%, compared with first quarter 2018 results. This is the highest first-quarter sales total in over 30 years, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute (LIMRA SRI) quarterly U.S. Group Annuity Risk Transfer Survey.
read more - Life/Health Insurers Daunted by Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Long-Duration Contract Changes
Could be costly for companies transitioning to new accounting standards
Changes to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requirements for insurance companies to report GAAP financials for long-duration contracts could become costly for companies transitioning to the new accounting standards and could create earnings and reserving volatility, according to a new AM Best commentary.
read more - Nearly 24 Million People with Employer Plans Spent Large Shares of Income on Health Care Costs
Louisiana, Maine, and Arkansas had the greatest share of people with high cost burdens because of high premiums
Millions of Americans with employer health coverage are spending large shares of their income on health care costs, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The analysis looks at what people in every state report spending on premiums and out-of-pocket costs for medications, copays, and dental and vision care.
read more - Americans Believe Risky Careers are Considered the Most Heroic
Soldiers, firefighters and police officers are among the most heroic occupations; So are stay-at-home Moms
A new study released by leading life insurance provider Vantis Life has highlighted just how valued heroic jobs are in American society. The research polled 2,000 U.S. residents, asking respondents to rank 22 common professions based on how heroic, important and trusted they are, and how they should be compensated accordingly.
read more - Giving Savers the Confidence to Retire
How advisors and employers can help raise retirement confidence
by Jamie Ohl
Retiring – it’s something that all of us hope to be able to do someday – but that not many people feel confident about. Recently, at Lincoln Financial we launched the Consumer Retirement Index, which is a measure of how confident Americans feel about retirement based on their answers to three questions...
read more - Recent Life Settlement Transactions Reveal Broad Social Utility
Seniors Are Selling Unwanted Life Insurance Policies to Solve Wide Range of Financial Challenges
Asset Life Settlements, LLC announced that an analysis of the company's life settlement transactions over the past year indicates that seniors and retired business executives are selling their unwanted policies to address a wide range of financial challenges.
read more - LIMRA and The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative™ Announce New Life and Annuity Members
Building blockchain solutions that will lower industry transaction costs, improve the customer experience, and increase the speed and security of data transfers among customers
LIMRA and The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative™ LIMRA announced today that eight companies have joined the life and annuity sector of the risk management and insurance industry’s first enterprise-level blockchain consortium.
read more - Ten Years Of Research Reveals Deep Changes In People’s Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Money And Risk
Between 2009 and 2019, financial habits and financial security have greatly improved, but optimism hasn't budged
In 2009, Northwestern Mutual commissioned a study among U.S. adults aged 25+ to explore their attitudes and behaviors toward money and financial decision-making, as well as their opinions about broader ideas such as the attainability of the American Dream.
read more - Competing In The Post-Digital Insurance World
The key to unlocking true transformation and innovation isn’t just about investing in new technology, It’s about investing in new mindsets
by Emily Smith Cardineau
Depending on who you ask, the term post-digital was coined by a tech journalist named Russell Davies in 2009 to describe a new paradigm he saw on the horizon. His use of the term in no way suggested that digital was to become obsolete or a thing of the past, rather that digital was becoming…
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