September 2004

Welcome to Prairie Post, Blue Prairie Group's monthly e-Newsletter about Human Resource, Employee Benefits, and Institutional Retirement & Investment issues. The articles have been carefully chosen from a variety of high-quality sources including government, research and academic institutions.

In this Issue...

 
  - Few Programs Address Women's Retirement Risks

  - Selecting a Default Fund for a Defined Contribution Plan

  - 401(k) Plans For Small Businesses

  - REIT's Going Mainstream in 401(k)'s

  - Selecting the Right Financial Education Provider

  - Savings Plan Participants and Age-Based Lifestyle Funds

  - Ten Reasons to Identify and Correct Mistakes in Your Plan Operations

  - Model Program to Aid Working Caregivers Being Offered to Employees

  - Tests and Threats: Employers Forced to Take Employee Word on Earning Wellness Incentives

  - Surveys Show Broad Interest in Health Savings Accounts

  - Health Cost Control Depends on Managing the Site of Care and Considering Alternative Sites

  - The Mixed Message of Long-Term Care Coverage

  - Rebounding Economy Renews Employer Interest in Lifestyle Benefits for Employees

Few Programs Address Women's Retirement Risks

Stacks of research studies show women face tougher roads to retirement than men do. Less pay, less time in the work force and a longer life span put women at high-risk for being unprepared for retirement. Yet, employers are reluctant to address this issue because they don't want to have gender-specific programs, for reasons of fairness and liability.
 

Click to read the full article

Selecting a Default Fund for a Defined Contribution Plan

Many plan sponsors currently choose a fixed-dollar fund as the default option for their defined contribution plan. This report analyzes the legal and investment considerations underlying the selection of a default fund, and suggests that in light of the "prudent investor" standard that governs such fiduciary decisions, a better choice for a default fund is one or more balanced investment options.

Click to read the full article

401(k) Plans For Small Businesses

401(k) plans can be a powerful tool in promoting financial security in retirement. They are a valuable option for businesses considering a retirement plan, providing benefits to employees and their employers. This article highlights some of a 401(k) plan's advantages, some of employer options and responsibilities in operating a 401(k), and the differences among the types of 401(k) plans.

Click to read the full article

REIT's Going Mainstream in 401(k)'s

REIT's (Real Estate Investment Trusts) still aren't widely offered in employee retirement accounts, but they are growing in popularity and are no longer considered an alternative product.

Click to read the full article

Selecting the Right Financial Education Provider

Faced with an aging work force anxious about retirement and concerned about 401(k) participation and discrimination, more employers are turning to financial education providers for help. With so many financial education vendors available, employers must be choosy when it comes to finding the right fit.

Click to read the full article

Savings Plan Participants and Age-Based Lifestyle Funds

A plan sponsor currently offers four risk-based lifestyle funds in their participant-directed retirement plan—conservative, moderate, growth and aggressive. Despite volumes of participant communication billing these funds as "one-stop" investment options, usage is low. Furthermore, after making their initial selection, participants fail to re-examine their risk profiles on a regular basis. Perhaps age-based funds are the answer.

Click to read the full article

Ten Reasons to Identify and Correct Mistakes in Your Plan Operations

At the IRS, they hear some pretty interesting reasons for not bringing plans into compliance with the law. Here are some good reasons to identify and fix mistakes in the operation of your retirement plans.
 

Click to read the full article

Model Program to Aid Working Caregivers Being Offered to Employees

A new program to aid working caregivers has taken hold at several Midwestern companies. St. Andrew's Resources for Seniors, a nonprofit Episcopal-Presbyterian organization in St. Louis, offers the 'caring workplace' program to employers that want to assist caregivers in their workforce. Caregiving demands can cause lost productivity for employers and reduced quality of life for caregivers.

Click to read the full article

Tests and Threats: Employers Forced to Take Employee Word on Earning Wellness Incentives

‘Cutesy bottles and T-shirts never worked,' says Roslyn Stone, chief operating officer of Corporate Wellness, a company that administers wellness programs. 'Employees are looking for real incentives, and money talks.' Now, wellness programs are offering incentives thought to be of real value to participants, including discounts on health premiums and cold, hard cash. The question is, are employees really earning these rewards?

Click to read the full article

Surveys Show Broad Interest in Health Savings Accounts

Consumers are intrigued by the concept of health savings accounts, findings of a recent poll conducted for Cigna HealthCare show. And it's not just the healthy and wealthy applying for them, according to data from Assurant Health, a nationwide carrier of individual and small-group health insurance.

Click to read the full article

Health Cost Control Depends on Managing the Site of Care and Considering Alternative Sites

Most employers recognize that if they want to reduce their health care expenses, they must control hospital expenditures. To accomplish this, they must not only increase their negotiating leverage with providers, but also identify alternatives to using hospitals as the major site of care.

Click to read the full article

The Mixed Message of Long-Term Care Coverage

Some employees want employers to offer coverage. But others balk at the price tag-- and the spectre of mortality.

Click to read the full article

Rebounding Economy Renew Employer Interest in Lifestyle Benefits for Employees

Actually, it's all about keeping workers happy and bringing new employees in. As the market begins to rebound, employers want to attract and retain the best labor available. A survey from the Minneapolis-based Gantz Wiley Research provides good reason: It found that the number of workers planning to stay on in their current position fell to 59% this year from 62% in 2003

Click to read the full article

Disclosure Statement:
Blue Prairie Group, L.L.C. does not endorse and disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, or reliability of the material. All articles are copyrighted to their publishers.