Questions coming into HR can be evaded with proactive communication if provided before open enrollment, and from a benefits planning approach, rather than once a year.

Congress flooded its supercommittee with a jumble of advice Thursday about taming the government's out-of-control debt, with top agriculture lawmakers readying a bipartisan plan to pare food and farm aid while others urged an aggressive hunt for savings coupled with warnings against cutting cherished programs.

Mutual fund investors retreated from stocks in September as the market continued to decline, capping the biggest quarterly withdrawal from stock funds since the financial crisis in late 2008.

After growing sharply throughout the 1990s, participation rates in 401(k)s leveled off during the next decade, especially during the period between 2005 and 2009, according to trend analysis from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The U.S. life insurance industry may begin to see some erosion in results in the third quarter, despite strong earnings in the first half, according to a report published today by Standard & Poors Ratings Services.

House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama talked about jobs legislation Thursday in a 10-minute phone call today, the Ohio Republican's office said.

With the stress that todays work force is facing, employee conflicts are arising more often. In many situations, fewer employees are around, and the workload is higher, which can lead to uncomfortable professional environments and more employee conflicts, says Jason Carney, director of human resources at WorkSmart Systems Inc.

Overall health spending growth is well below this year's premium increases, according to a new study released Thursday.