Over $8 billion dollars in long-term disability insurance claim payments was paid to disabled workers in 2009, a 2.9 percent increase from 2008, a recent survey found.

According to a new Transamerica study, of the companies that currently don't offer a retirement plan 74 percent indicate they're "not at all likely" to offer a plan in the near future - a dramatic jump from 43 percent the prior year.

Interest in consumer-directed health plans continues to expand among employers and their workers. Why? They are both saving money.