Employer-Paid

Employees age 50 and older “should be encouraged to embrace AI as a tool for learning new skills, refreshing current skills, and increasing their productivity at work, while continuing to draw on and promote the value of their own experience and expertise.”

2026 will reward employers, brokers, and vendors that embrace flexibility, transparency, and consumer-driven benefits design — and those that help employees make smarter financial decisions in an increasingly complex health care landscape.

The House might side with the Senate, instead of the White House, on funding levels.

Growth in what employers spent on premiums slowed, and overall health spending slowed even more.

"If health insurance premiums rise faster than wages and general inflation, small employers are likely to face intensified financial strain, which could accelerate the erosion of health plan sponsorship among firms with fewer than 100 workers," said Paul Fronstin, Ph.D., director of health benefits research for the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced wage garnishment practices are back on hold, as the administration revamps student loan repayment plans, efforts that are expected to be finalized this summer.