Apparatus and method for providing employee benefits and/or employee benefits information

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing or processing information regarding a benefit provided to an employee pursuant to an employee benefit relationship between the employee and a benefit provider, wherein the benefit is at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, and further wherein the at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, is included in an individual benefits account of or for the employee, wherein the employee benefit relationship is established pursuant to or during a first employment relationship between the employee and a first employer;

storing or processing information for providing or maintaining the benefit provided to the employee pursuant to the employee benefit relationship pursuant to or during a second employment relationship between the employee and a second employer, wherein the second employment relationship is a current employment relationship, wherein the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer;

receiving a request for information regarding the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship which is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and which is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer;

processing the request for information regarding the benefit with a processing device using employee benefit information or employee benefits information, wherein the processing device is a computer or a computer system which is accessed via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web or which operates on or over at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web;

generating a message in response to the processing of the request for information regarding the benefit, wherein the message contains a response to the request for information regarding the benefit; and

transmitting the message to a communication device associated with at least one of the employee, a benefit beneficiary, the second employer, and a benefit administrator, wherein the message is transmitted to the communication device via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a request for an employee benefit or a claim for an employee benefit;

processing the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit;

generating a second message in response to the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit; and

transmitting the second message to the communication device.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the second message contains information indicating that the employee benefit requested in the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit is provided or will be provided.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

providing the employee benefit requested or claimed in the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit or providing a payment pursuant to the employee benefit requested or claimed in the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a registration for the benefit or a second benefit or processing information regarding a subscription to the benefit or a second benefit.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

processing a request for a status of the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit;

generating a third message in response to the request for a status of the request for an employee benefit or the claim for an employee benefit; and

transmitting the third message to the communication device.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a purchase of an enhanced benefit or an upgraded benefit.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a purchase of an employee benefit or a purchase of at least one of a good, a product, and a service, pursuant to an employee benefit.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a change to the benefit or a change to a second benefit.

10 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing or processing information regarding a benefit provided to an employee pursuant to an employee benefit relationship between the employee and a benefit provider, wherein the benefit is at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, and further wherein the at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, is included in an individual benefits account of or for the employee, wherein the employee benefit relationship is established pursuant to or during a first employment relationship between the employee and a first employer;

storing or processing information for providing or maintaining the benefit provided to the employee pursuant to the employee benefit relationship pursuant to or during a second employment relationship between the employee and a second employer, wherein the second employment relationship is a current employment relationship, wherein the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer;

receiving a request for information regarding the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship which is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and which is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer, and further wherein the request for information regarding the benefit is transmitted from a communication device associated with at least one of the employee, a benefit beneficiary, the second employer, and a benefit administrator;

processing the request for information regarding the benefit with a processing device, wherein the processing device is a computer or a computer system which is accessed via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web or which operates on or over at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web;

generating a message in response to the processing of the request for information regarding the benefit, wherein the message contains a response to the request for information regarding the benefit; and

transmitting the message to the communication device associated with at least one of the employee, a benefit beneficiary, the second employer, and a benefit administrator, wherein the message is transmitted to the communication device via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

11 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing or processing information regarding a benefit provided to an employee pursuant to an employee benefit relationship between the employee and a benefit provider, wherein the benefit is at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, and further wherein the at least one of a health insurance benefit, a disability insurance benefit, and a life insurance benefit, is included in an individual benefits account of or for the employee, and further wherein the employee benefit relationship is established pursuant to or during a first employment relationship between the employee and a first employer;

storing or processing information for providing or maintaining the benefit provided to the employee pursuant to the employee benefit relationship pursuant to or during a second employment relationship between the employee and a second employer, wherein the second employment relationship is a current employment relationship, wherein the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer;

receiving a request for the benefit or a claim for the benefit, wherein the benefit is the benefit provided pursuant to the employee benefit relationship which is paid for or provided at least in part by the second employer in or pursuant to the second employment relationship and which is included in employee benefits provided to the employee by the second employer;

processing the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit with a processing device, wherein the processing device is a computer or a computer system which is accessed via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web or which operates on or over at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web;

generating a message in response to the processing of the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit, wherein the message contains a response to the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit; and

transmitting the message to a communication device associated with at least one of the employee, a benefit beneficiary, the second employer, and a benefit administrator, wherein the message is transmitted to the communication device via, on, or over, at least one of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising:

receiving a request for benefit information;

processing the request for benefit information;

generating a second message in response to the request for benefit information; and

transmitting the second message to the communication device.

13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the message contains information indicating that the benefit requested in the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit is provided or will be provided.

14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising:

providing the benefit requested or claimed in the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit.

15 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a registration for the benefit or a second benefit or processing information regarding a subscription to the benefit or to a second benefit.

16 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising:

processing a request for a status of the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit;

generating a second message in response to the request for a status of the request for the benefit or the claim for the benefit; and

transmitting the second message to the communication device.

17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the message contains information regarding a providing of a health insurance benefit or a providing of a payment pursuant to a health insurance benefit.

18 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the message contains information regarding a providing of a disability insurance benefit or a providing of a payment pursuant to a disability insurance benefit.

19 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising:

processing information regarding a purchase of a second benefit or a change to the benefit or to a second benefit.

20 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the information regarding a benefit is at least one of automatically updated and updated in real-time.