| | Benefits & Administration | | More Employees Enroll in HSAs for Long-Term Savings | | ConnectYourCare’s 2018 report on consumer-driven health care account trends finds 44.9% of respondents chose to enroll in a health savings account (HSA) as a savings vehicle for future health care needs, over more immediate benefits like tax savings and lower premiums, up from 40.5% in its 2017 report. The majority of HSA account holders are spenders, both by their self-evaluation and backed up by spending and balance data. However, 44% of account holders saved at least half of their contributions in 2017, which may indicate a future shift in saver/spender trends.Read more > | | | Investing | | LPL Financial Researchers Weigh In on Managing Interest Rate Risk | | As 2017 ended, fixed income investors were searching for income, after several years of 10-year Treasuries yielding less than 2.5%, according to John Lynch, chief Investment strategist, LPL Financial, and Colin Allen, assistant vice president, LPL Financial. In an LPL research report, they note that when 2018 began, this changed quickly as tax reform and signs of inflationary pressures pushed market interest rates higher. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.87%, from a starting yield of 2.04% on September 7, 2017, to 2.91% on February 15, 2018. Investors have grown concerned that improving economic data and rising inflationary pressures may cause the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates in 2018 at a more aggressive pace than originally anticipated. Given this backdrop, investors are naturally reassessing their interest rate risk.Read more > |
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