Mr. Bush's proposal was to start taxing workers on the value of their employer-provided plans while also allowing some part of the plan's cost to be deducted from taxable income.

Specifically, it is a type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that is set up as an employer-provided plan.

The court said that health maintenance organizations and their doctors are bound by a duty under one of Erisa's provisions to act as fiduciaries, that is, to act "solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries" of an employer-provided medical plan.

If other group health coverage is available (for example, through a spouse's employer-provided plan), special enrollment in that plan should be considered.

The Senate could not even bring itself to expand basic protections from the 48 million Americans in fancy "self-insured" health programs to more than 100 million in employer-provided plans, state and local government plans and those for people who buy their own insurance.

The U.S. Census Bureau attributed the drop primarily to the loss of employer-provided plans due to the economic downturn and a continuation of rising costs.

While the savings can be in employer-provided plans, such as 401K retirement savings, only the employee's contributions, not the employer's, should be counted toward the goal.

If you or a working parent are approaching 65, check whether an employer-provided plan can be converted at retirement to an individual Medigap policy - about one-third are convertible.

Plans may also be either employer-provided or individual plans.

For many people, saving for retirement means squirreling away as much as possible through employer-provided plans, the most popular being the 401(k).