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Your retirement plan -AT RISK!Posted by Retirement on: 2005-10-28 08:32:01 in category:
Retirement Headlines [ Print | Permalink / 0 Comment(s) ] I recently came across this disturbing study on how corporate retirement plans (pensions, 401k, etc) are managed. As an investment professional, I am outraged, and you should be too! Given my years in the industry, I am not surprised by the findings as these issues (as well as others) are exactly what I have found in my experiences with corporate plans. One of the biggest problems with corporate sponsored plans is that they are typically controled by the Human Resources department. I understand this is an empolyee benefit, however, managing millions or billions of dollars is typically not an expertise of HR. Again from experience, I know that the best way for changes to take place in these plans is for a number of employees to start asking deep questions about how their plan works. If you need some help in what to ask and what to look for, feel free to email me here. This article is well worth the time is takes to read! Hewitt Study Finds Employers Lack Control Over Global Retirement Benefits; Risk- and Cost-Management Priorities Trump Employee Concerns LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2005--Despite the mounting cost of retirement programs and the increasing complexity of governmental compliance, a majority of global employers lack control over their retirement benefits, according to new research by Hewitt Associates (NYSE:HEW), a global human resources services firm. Hewitt's study of more than 100 large, multinational organizations located in Europe and North America found that a surprising number do not have annual goals (64 percent) or written global strategies (60 percent) for their retirement plans. In addition, less than half of companies ranked themselves as "in control" of the following items related to retirement: aligning with business strategies, managing costs, managing risk, optimizing processes, enabling their employees and executing globally. "I am struck by the evident lack of control reported by many global companies that participated in this survey," said Michael Downing, retirement and financial management consultant for Hewitt Associates. "It's been several years now that companies' retirement plans have suffered from some of the worst financial market conditions in our history and, more recently, been impacted by corporate scandals and bankruptcies. Companies need to be farther ahead in managing this volatile aspect of their business." Priorities for Action Most companies in Hewitt's survey identified managing risk and controlling the costs of their global retirement programs as their top two priorities in the coming years. Forty-seven percent of all respondents, and 53 percent of North American companies, identified aligning their retirement programs with overall business strategies as another top priority. Interestingly, only 4 percent of companies selected enabling employees to retire as a top priority. Employee concerns also took a back seat to cost and risk control among the 31 percent of companies that have established annual retirement goals. They said their most important goal is ensuring retirement benefits are affordable to their organizations, followed by compliance with appropriate laws. With respect to retirement benefit outcomes, companies said Europe and North America are their regions of greatest concern and, even more specifically, identified the following countries of greatest concern: the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Germany. Trends and Techniques Toward Control Hewitt's survey identified four techniques that are helping companies generate a greater degree of control over their retirement programs: 1. Global strategies and goals. Companies with a written strategy for their global retirement benefits and/or those with annual retirement goals were more likely to rate themselves as "in control" of their retirement programs. More European (42 percent) than North American companies (28 percent) reported having written strategies and, in turn, felt more control over managing risk, managing cost and executing globally. A majority of companies with annual goals also indicated they are on track to meet their most important retirement goals, though only 41 percent with the goal of ensuring their employees can retire ranked themselves as on track toward meeting that goal. More than half of respondents without annual retirement goals said they have plans to develop them in the near future. 2. Global decision making and execution. A majority of companies (55 percent) are developing their overall benefit strategy at the global level; however, decisions such as plan changes, investment policy, compliance assurance and service provider selection are more often made at the local level. "In our opinion, the complexities of corporate governance and the increasing movement of employees require more global oversight," said Downing. "I also am concerned about too much local control over investment policy and strategy, when ultimately, it is an enterprise risk. In order to be more successful in managing a global retirement program, more companies will need to move toward global oversight." 3. Shared functional responsibility for retirement benefits. Half of all respondents said their human resources and finance functions share responsibility for the outcomes of global retirement benefits. North American respondents were more likely than their European counterparts to indicate sole HR responsibility. A majority of respondents (62 percent) anticipate an increase in both areas sharing responsibility for retirement in the next two years. "We believe companies with a shared HR/finance responsibility coupled with good working relations will achieve better results, particularly in light of evolving accounting standards that increase the visibility of pension-related liabilities," Downing said. 4. Use of external resources. Three-quarters of companies use both internal resources and outside advisers for managing aspects of their global retirement benefits, while 16 percent rely primarily on outside advisers. Respondents who used single worldwide providers or a list of preferred providers for particular services typically reported greater control over their retirement programs (the lower the guidance provided to individual countries, the lower the control). "It stands to reason that employers who take proactive steps to increase control will achieve better results," Downing observed. Please support our sponsors: To design your custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us |
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