"[1] Decide whether to adopt the new $7,500 limit for 2026. [2] Amend plan documents and update employee communications and open enrollment procedures accordingly. [3] Coordinate with payroll and administrators to ensure systems and testing procedures are ready for the new limit. [4] Review historical participation data to model whether the higher cap could trigger testing failures and consider conducting prospective testing."  MORE >>

"The agency guidance creates new pathways for employers to offer fertility coverage to their employees as excepted benefits from [ACA] insurance mandates. The FAQ guidance also indicates future agency proposed regulations will be released to address the new pathways and other alternatives for employers to cover fertility coverage."  MORE >>

"The guidance does not announce new methods for plan sponsors to provide fertility benefits, but it does confirm the Departments’ thinking regarding fertility benefits structured as excepted benefits under the existing rules."  MORE >>

"In the scenario presented to the WHD, the agency opined that the appropriate calculation would entail taking into account the employee's regularly scheduled hours including the mandatory overtime. The employer would not, however, consider the employee's volunteer overtime hours in making the calculation. Since the correctional officers were regularly scheduled to work 84 hours in a two week period, they would be have 504 hours available for FMLA leave."  MORE >>

"Starting on January 1, most employees working in the North Star State will be eligible to take job-protected paid leave to care for themselves and their families.... Employers that wish to use a private insurance plan or self-fund a plan will need to submit appropriate documentation by November 10 ... to ensure approval by January 1."  MORE >>

"[T]he survey examines trends in employer-sponsored health coverage.... This year [employers were asked] detailed questions about their provider networks, approaches to primary care, menopause support benefits, and coverage for GLP-1 agonists for weight loss, as well as which overall factors they believe have contributed to premium growth.... Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $26,993 this year, 6% higher than in 2024. On average, workers contributed $6,850 toward the cost of family coverage. The average deductible among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible was $1,886 for single coverage."  MORE >>

"HUB's National Actuarial Team recommends the following trend projections for 2026 budget planning: [1] Rx only: 10%-12%; [2] Medical & Rx combined: 8%-10%; [3] Medical only: 7%-9%; [4] Dental: 4%-5%; [5] Vision: 2%-3%."  MORE >>

"Premiums for job-based health insurance rose 6% in 2025 to an average of $26,993 a year for family coverage ... It's the first time in two decades that the cost of covering a family of four has risen by 6% or more for three consecutive years[.]"  MORE >>

"Created through regulations by the first Trump Administration in 2019, ICHRAs permit employers to provide pre-tax dollars for employees to purchase individual market health insurance that complies with [ACA] requirements. Take-up has apparently been small and much is still unknown about their impact."  MORE >>

"[W]hile the data show 55 percent of all workers 'still rely on HR materials and information sessions from employers to understand their workplace benefits,' 37 percent of Gen-Z have used social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and even YouTube ... to seek out benefits information -- the highest percentage of any generation responding to the survey. "  MORE >>

"[1] HSAs are not use-it-or-lose it ... [2] HSAs can provide more tax breaks than 401(k)s ... [3] You can invest the HSA money in mutual funds ... [4] You can open an HSA even if it isn't offered by your employer ... [5] HSA money can be used for even more expenses after retirement ... [6] You can use the HSA money for family members' medical expenses ... [7] You have an unlimited amount of time after you pay for medical expenses to reimburse yourself."  MORE >>

"Fidelity Investments estimates a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2025 could face $345,000 in lifetime health care costs. Preparing for these expenses requires a proactive approach focused on what you can control and informed decisions about insurance and long-term care. Here's how to start."  MORE >>

"Employers use everything in their toolbox to try to stem cost increases, but they stop short of using any strategy so much that blowback from employees causes the company a real problem. Employers are also lone actors in a sector that is fragmented without real bargaining power.... Employers have nothing new to throw at the problem and that could result in a new wave of increasing deductibles and other forms of employee cost sharing, the strategy neither employers nor employees like but employers resort to in a pinch to produce quick savings. Rising premiums may also result in a temporary halt in the expansion of coverage for GLP-1s."  MORE >>