It's that time of year when we go nuts for lists. I don't know what it is about the end of a calendar year, but it spurs the birth of more top 10 lists than a David Letterman bender. Top movies? OK, fine. Songs? Sure, why not? But top deaths? Seriously?

So, in that spirit of wrapping up a year we'd all like to forget, I'd like to take my own personal stab at the year's top five employee benefit stories, but I'm unwilling to commit to them in any particular order.

AIG, of course, earns a place in any such list by virtue of their sheer size. While their insurance business remains solid and their benefits arm is just a fraction of what they do, their government loan and the press it generated sent shockwaves through the industry.