Benefits February 22, 2013

Many Expect Health Coverage Will Come from Government

February 22, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Nearly half of U.S. consumers polled believe the majority of Americans will have government-provided health insurance within the next three to five years.
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In addition, a new LIMRA survey found, despite reports of many employers saying they plan to continue to provide health care insurance, four in 10 consumers believe the majority of employers will cease to offer health insurance coverage and pay the penalty instead. One-third of consumers responded that they “don’t know” or didn’t share an opinion, which may indicate a lack of knowledge on health care reform.  

According to the survey results, consumers embraced the idea of buying financial products through the new exchanges mandated by the health care reform law. Forty-five percent of consumers would be interested in life insurance, and 50% would be interested in disability insurance.  

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Sixty-seven percent would be interested in dental plans, and 56% would be interested in critical illness products. Approximately 30% would be interested in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and annuities.  

Based on these results, exchanges may offer the industry a new way to reach Americans and help them protect their financial security, LIMRA said.
Products February 22, 2013

Prudential Announces Education Tools

February 22, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Prudential Retirement has joined the annual America Saves Week campaign to encourage Americans to make a commitment to increase savings over their lifetime.
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To support Americans’ goal to retire with certainty and security, Prudential Retirement’s new multidimensional learning site, www.prudential.com/prepare, provides targeted financial information content based on participants’ life stage. The Retirement Income Calculator application—available free of charge from the Apple Store, Google’s Android Market and Blackberry’s App World—helps individuals discover how their retirement savings will translate into monthly income in retirement.  

“Prudential Retirement is focused on helping Americans manage the risk of outliving their savings in retirement,” said George Castineiras, Prudential Retirement’s senior vice president of Total Retirement Solutions. “Prudential Retirement is supporting the [America Saves] Week by urging individuals to take a small step toward saving for retirement. Incremental savings can make a difference in the long term.”   

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The 7th Annual America Saves Week is February 25 through March 2 (see “Campaign Provides Employee Education Opportunity”).

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