Retirement

State looks to boost pension fund with hedge fund investments

09/22/2008

The New Jersey Department of the Treasury has received court approval to invest $9 billion of the state’s public employee pension fund in alternative investments, including hedge funds, in an attempt to improve performance in a sluggish market.

DOL proposal calls for more disclosure about employers’ 401(k) fees

09/18/2008

New regulations proposed by the DOL would require fiduciaries of 401(k) plans to disclose more information to employees about plan-related fees and investment performance. The goal: Allow employees to “peek behind the curtain” of the fees they pay for their 401(k)s …

Transfer that call! Let benefits admin field pension queries

08/25/2008

Employees often rely on benefits information to make major life decisions—e.g., setting a retirement date or turning down a job offer—so it’s wise to let your benefits administrator field the questions rather handling them internally. Here’s why: Something as simple as making a mistake while calculating the employee’s years of service can lead to an ERISA lawsuit years later over retirement benefits …

Lower retirement pay doesn’t excuse late discrimination filing

08/22/2008

Employees who believe they have suffered pay discrimination have to move fast to file their claims. They can’t wait, for example, until after they retire and only then claim their retirement benefits are lower than they should be because they were discriminated against …

5 Steps for Communicating Benefits Changes

08/19/2008

As your organization shifts more responsibility to employees to manage their own health and retirement expenses, you risk alienating your work force. But it doesn’t have to be that way …

Home Depot stock case enters another round

08/19/2008

You can’t please everyone, so the saying goes, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta came close in its ruling on a class-action suit by Home Depot employees under ERISA. The lawsuit alleges that former CEO Robert Nardelli and other directors, including co-founder Ken Langone, mismanaged the employees’ defined contribution plan …

Salaries Expected to Grow in ’09 Despite Sluggish Economy

08/12/2008

Despite the economic gloom that’s dominated the headlines for the last year, there’s a ray of hope for employees—and perhaps a sign that employers are bullish on business prospects for 2009. A pair of new surveys shows that employers are proceeding with plans to pay their workers more next year.

Try these 10 creative alternatives to handing out pink slips

08/01/2008

Laying off workers can strain more than the employees who lose their jobs and the managers who have to deliver the bad news. Before your organization starts handing out pink slips, consider some alternatives that have worked for employers during past economic slumps …

Bargaining or bribery?

07/25/2008

After several months of wrangling with the State Employee Association of North Carolina (SEANC) over a records request, State Treasurer Richard Moore upped the ante in June by accusing the association of attempted bribery …

Feds ask former steelworkers to pay up for government’s mistake

07/24/2008

Hundreds of retired steelworkers in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York have been notified that their pensions are being cut by as much as 75% due to miscalculations by the federal government …