The flurry of activity surrounding fall enrollments and theaccompanying benefits for January 1 has died down, and it's time tostep back for a moment and consider issues to address this year.How will your organization address these 16 issues for 2016?

1. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a gift thatwill not stop giving, and this year will be no exception. A cottageindustry has sprung up surrounding compliance and reportingrequirements. Are your clients in good shape there? Additionally,the Cadillac tax is beginning to loom large as even the mostcost-controlled employer plans project to be into tax territorywithin 10 years.

2. Non-retiring boomers are staying in the workforce beyond their“normal” retirement age due to various factors. But the benefits weprovide have diminishing value after 65, and need to be made morerelevant.

3. Retiring boomers represent the opposite end of their generation.When they leave, they take lots of experience with them. Youremployer customers may want your help in designing meaningfulbenefits that will incentivize some to stay in the workforce.

4. Building voluntary expertise is an issue for brokers whose focushas been on medical benefits. As emphasis on voluntary grows, sogrows the need to build or partner to gain expertise.

5. Too much of a good thing? Since voluntary benefits are growingmore essential, some employers and their advisors have decided thata broad array of voluntary options should be rolled out in a singlecampaign. Keep in mind the problem of choice overload. Employeesmay actually be happier with fewer benefit choices in a singleenrollment augmented by additional choices at a later time.

6. How can nontraditional voluntary services add value for us? Adiverse employee population demands a diversity of voluntaryoptions, not all traditional. Remember, a smart phone is moreimportant to many millennials than a car.

7. Using social media in the benefits business has, up until now,been a minor item in the benefit world. That will change. We needto become more proficient in building employee awareness of thevalue of our benefit offerings using social media.

8. Why do employees too often “dis” disability protection? Many ofus believe that disability protection is the most valuable benefitand yet many employees overlook purchasing disability incomeprotection in favor of products with a much lower potential value.How can we make a better business case for this essentialproduct?

9. Acquiring customers through collaboration is a challenge forthose of us who have been self-reliant for years. Today'scomplicated market often forces brokers to collaborate.

10. How will the election affect our business? 'Nuff said on this bythe talking head news folks. Discuss among yourselves.

11. Technology for benefit administration and enrollment continuesto grow in prominence, while the much vaunted exchanges seem to belanguishing. Benefit administration systems have grown to be anessential part of an employer's PPACA compliance strategy, andbenefit advisors must become knowledgeable enough to be able toassist employers in selecting the best system for their needs.

12. The economy continues to offer challenges and uncertainty toboth employer and employee customers. This affects the benefits anemployer offers, and how they are funded.

13. Insurer consolidation gives the major players more market scale,which may reduce employer and broker bargaining power.

14. Disruptive distribution has been lurking for years as apotential challenge for our business as large retailers, onlinemarketers and non-traditional distributors see opportunity in ourmarket.

15. Broker consolidation may be on the table for many advisors.Meanwhile, your competitors may be purchased, giving them theresources of a much larger firm. And if you are an acquirer, how doyou choose the right targets for consolidation—and how do youpreserve and build on their value after a merger?

16. Global warming OK, really, that's for other people toponder—aren't the first 15 issues enough to keep us busy thisyear?