You’ve planned. You’ve strategized. You’re ready to get things going, right? Congratulations, the countdown to Open Enrollment begins now.

​Prescription drug costs are rising faster than any other part of healthcare spending. A growing number of Americans can't afford their medications, forcing too many people to skip dosages - or skip taking their medication  entirely - and become sicker. 

​Goodbye summer, hello fall. To most people these words mean a change in weather, wardrobe, or their favorite fall flavored drink at Starbucks. But to an HR or employee benefit professional, it also means something else… time to start gearing up for Open Enrollment.

Providing for ourselves and loved ones is one of many motivations to get up and go to work — a globally shared sentiment. While that motivation may be what attracts potential applicants to an employer’s door, it won’t be enough to retain employees unless we consider what benefits packages could look like without breaking the company bank. ​

Two things get me very excited -- Interesting content about employee behavior and a really good infographic. When someone nails both in one swoop, I consider it good enough to share. Here’s why I find this gem relevant to our friends and readers. To understand the types of competitive employee benefit packages that are going to create the best level of satisfaction and loyalty for your company, you need to understand who your employees are, and what is important to them.

So, you’ve hired a new employee benefits advisor to assist you in developing and managing your employee benefits program.  Perhaps you interviewed a few different benefit brokers to evaluate your options, or focused on and moved forward with just one firm that seemed like the perfect fit.  Now, how do you measure the quality of service from your new benefits partner?

Update: The decade-long court case on whether Edison International’s financial advisors and investment committee breached their fiduciary duties to retirement plan participants came to an end Wednesday when the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the firm breached its fiduciary obligations by not switching participants to lower-fee institutional mutual fund shares.