WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?    Bolton and Company responds to challenges in dynamic employee benefits field The great wasteland. That's the way some agents and brokers see the employee benefits business if health reform survives legal challenges later this year. Employers may back out of providing health insurance, individuals may turn to state-operated insurance exchanges and group health plan commission income may disappear. But Bolton and Company in Pasadena, California, isn't intimidated by an evolving industry. Already a leader in health benefits sales in Southern California, the brokerage has been developing a broad range of benefits administration and human resource support services for the past several years that will continue to drive new employee benefits business-as well as cross-sales in property/casualty insurance, executives say. Chief Operating Officer Mike Morey says the firm has consistently stayed ahead of changes in the benefits business-focusing on comprehensive risk management strategies that cut across the traditional boundaries between property/casualty and health benefits and the services that support those strategies. "We always knew that we were positioned for growth in employee benefits," he explains. "We knew we had great growth opportunities. But what changed for us was our big picture-our understanding that our real strength was in bringing total solutions to the table, not just selling insurance." Founded in 1931, the employee-owned Bolton has grown to more than 110 employees and over $200 million in premium volume. The employee benefits staff numbers about 28, including seven benefits producers. Employee benefits now generates about 40% of revenues or about $8 million in annual revenues, up from less than 20% only five years ago, Morey says, and the business continues to grow. Click here for the complete article …

Retirement Security Malaise Persists    Retirement Security Malaise Persists Health care reform has employers and their employee benefit advisors thoroughly confused as they wait for final rules and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling later this year. But health care reform isn't the only benefits problem facing employers and their employees. Retirement issues have taken a lower profile since the introduction of federal health reform, but they continue to pose troublesome questions for employers, employees and those who advise them. Before agents and brokers can respond with strategic advice, they need to understand the questions and the trends behind them. Employees continue to ask, "Do I have enough money to retire?" Employers are asking, "Is my retirement plan working to build employee security?" They are pretty much the same question, but the answer keeps changing as the economy and financial markets fluctuate and as Congress rehashes legislation that controls retirement plans. Retirement savings amassed before the recession may have seemed substantial, but even after some market rebound, the totals aren't what they were. And employee surveys paint a confusing picture of how prospective retirees and their employers feel about their future. The Towers Watson Retirement Attitudes Survey, conducted most recently in June and July of 2011, polled 9,218 private sector employees about their level of retirement security. The poll indicates that employee confidence has rebounded from recessionary lows. About 68% of respondents said they were confident they had enough resources to live comfortably for at least 15 years of retirement, up from 62% in 2010. Less than half (47%) of respondents, however, were confident their resources would last through 25 years of retirement. Click here for the complete article …