Recent Insights

Financial wellbeing benefits have traditionally centered on a long-term goal: retirement. But employees’ financial lives don’t begin at retirement. Many are balancing immediate priorities, including healthcare expenses, debt, emergency savings, and everyday living costs. PwC’s 2026 Employee Financial Wellness Survey found that 59% of employees were currently stressed about their finances. For many employees, the immediate concern […]

The Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) issued new FAQs addressing health-contingent wellness programs, including programs that impose tobacco-related premium surcharges. The guidance provides important enforcement relief concerning when a wellness reward must be provided after an individual completes a reasonable alternative standard. Health-contingent wellness programs […]

The IRS has announced that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability threshold will increase to 10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027, up from 9.96% for 2026. The new percentage was established in IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-26. For applicable large employers (ALEs), generally those with at least 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees, this percentage is […]

READ TIME: 5 MINUTES Employers sponsoring ERISA-covered group health plans are responsible for providing several required participant disclosures. Two of the most important—and most often confused—are the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and the Summary Plan Description (SPD). Although both documents help employees understand their health coverage, they serve different purposes and are required […]

For years, employee financial wellbeing meant helping workers prepare for retirement. Today, that definition is expanding. Employees are navigating higher living costs, student loan debt, rising healthcare expenses, and economic uncertainty while trying to save for both short- and long-term goals. As financial stress follows employees into the workplace, employers recognize that financial wellbeing is […]

READ TIME: 7 MINUTES When employers purchase fully insured health coverage, they expect premium dollars to be used primarily for employee health care, not excessive administrative costs or insurer profits. One of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) lesser-known consumer protection provisions helps ensure that happens through the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirements. The ACA established a nationwide […]

Each year, certain employers sponsoring self-insured health plans must calculate, report, and pay the PCORI fee to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For policy or plan years that ended in 2025, the next filing deadline is July 31, 2026. What Is the PCORI Fee? The PCORI fee was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) […]

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the inflation-adjusted health savings account (HSA), high-deductible health plan (HDHP), and excepted-benefit health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) limits for 2027. These annual adjustments provide employers with an early opportunity to evaluate benefit strategies, update employee communications, and prepare plan documents for the upcoming year. The additional $1,000 catch-up contribution […]

For the first time in history, many employers are managing a workforce that spans five generations—from employees just entering the workforce to those delaying retirement well into their sixties and seventies. While this diversity can strengthen organizations through broader perspectives and experience, it is also reshaping how employers think about benefits. Traditional, “one-size-fits-all” offerings are […]

READ TIME: 5 MINUTES The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized important changes affecting Medicare Part D creditable coverage determinations beginning with plan years starting on or after January 1, 2027. The updates will impact the way employer-sponsored health plans evaluate prescription drug coverage and comply with Medicare Part D disclosure requirements. The final […]