Financial Crisis Sparks New Debate on Retirement Benefits The U.S. financial crisis has renewed debate on Capitol Hill over how to ensure U.S. workers are saving enough for retirement, and how to guarantee that they have enough money to retire comfortably. ________________________________________ Where are the compensation articles? They are now posted in SHRM Online's brand new Compensation Focus Area!

News & Featured Articles DAILY NEWSWIRE For full links/summaries to free comp/benefits stories on the web, click here. Highlights: Financial Crisis Could Derail Health Care Reform (consumerwatchdog.org) Get Workers on Track to Invest Early and Often (Washington Post) Workers Drop Retirement Contributions as Markets Fall (Marketwatch) Obama Proposes Looser 401(k) Distribution Rules (plansponsor.com) Firms Try to Shore Up Incentive Pay (Wall Street Journal) NEWLY POSTED/OF SPECIAL NOTE • Model Communication to Employees About Turbulent Financial Times (SHRM Knowledge Center) • Addressing Retirement Plan Participants' Fears (Benefits Focus Area) • Prepare for Medicare's Secondary Payer Reporting Requirements (Benefits Focus Area) • Corporate Bond Yields Help Pension Plans, but Losses Continue (Benefits Focus Area) • Bailout, Mental Health Parity Enacted (HR News) (See also, from the SHRM Online Compensation Focus Area, Rescue Bill's Limits on Exec Comp Triggers Debate) [Listen to an audio podcast of this story] • Market Turbulence Sounds Warning for ERISA Fiduciaries (Benefits Focus Area) • Recession-Proof Your Benefits Package, Recruitment Strategy (Benefits Focus Area) Sign up for the SHRM Comp & Benefits newsletter (now 4 times monthly!) OPEN ENROLLMENT • Troubled Economy Gives Open Enrollment New Significance (Benefits Focus Area) • Five Steps To Supercharge Open Enrollment (Benefits Focus Area) HEALTH CARE: COST/ADMIN • More Face Higher Deductibles for Family Coverage (Benefits Focus Area) • Health Benefit Cost Growth Slows as Employers Alter Coverage, Shift Costs (Benefits Focus Area)[Listen to an audio podcast of this story] • Policy Wish List: Health Plan Managers Want Help with Cost, Quality Issues (Benefits Focus Area) • Survey and Primer: Health Plans Offered to U.S. Employees (Benefits Focus Area) • Health Care Self-Funding and Stop-Loss: Small Employers Balancing Risks and Rewards (Benefits Focus Area) • 401(k)s Hold Lessons for Consumer Engagement in Health Plans (Benefits Focus Area) • Employee Involvement Called Key to Controlling Drug Costs (Beneftis Focus Area) HEALTH CARE: WELLNESS • Flu Shots Help Employees Stay Well, Remain Productive (Benefits Focus Area) • Some Health & Wellness Programs More Valued than Others (Benefits Focus Area) • More Employers Use Incentives for Health Management Programs (Benefits Focus Area) • Keeping Wellness Programs Out of Hot Water (Benefits Focus Area) • Finding Wellness's Return on Investment, (HR Magazine) GROUP LEGAL BENEFITS • Group Legal Plans: Value for a Diverse Workforce (Benefits Focus Area) • Survey: Employee Legal Woes in Workplace (Benefits Focus Area) ELDER CARE • Elder Care at Work (HR Magazine) • Elder Care Tips, Tools and Resources (SHRM White Paper) • How to Care for Elder Care Givers (Benefits Focus Area) OTHER BENEFITS • Confronting the Gender Gap in Life Insurance Coverage (Benefits Focus Area) • Gas Prices Are Changing Policies for Auto-Bound Employees (Benefits Focus Area) • Identity Theft Protection as an Employee Benefit (Benefits Focus Area) • Smaller Businesses Employees Find Less Value in Their Benefits; More 'Voluntary' Choices Help (Benefits Focus Area) FAMILY BENEFITS • State Recognition of Civil Unions, Same-Sex Marriages Is Complex Issue (Workplace Law Focus Area) • Survey: Backup Care Reduces Stress (Benefits Focus Area) TIME OFF • 7th Circuit: Calling in Sick Without More Information Did Not Trigger FMLA (Workplace Law Focus Area) • Ohio Foreshadows Battle over Paid Sick Leave in 2009 (SHRM Government Affairs)

WEBCASTS Upcoming Webcasts Cut Costs with Total Health Management October 7, 2 p.m. ET Presenter: Cindy Gates and Robert Colao, Mercer A growing number of employers are adopting total health management, an approach to managing health care costs. With health management costs accounting for nearly a quarter of payrolls, such an approach can yield overall cost reductions of 1 to 3 percent of payroll. In this webcast, Cindy Gates and Robert Colao of Mercer will look at approaches employers have taken to create a sustainable culture of health, facilitating behavior change and cutting costs. This webcast is sponsored by Aviva Health. Register for this webcast Election 2008: A Look at Health Care Reform Oct. 22, 2 p.m. ET Presenter: Lisa Horn, SHRM Governmental Affairs Where do the major candidates and political parties stand on initiatives aimed at reforming the nation's health care system? SHRM's Lisa Horn will look at what the candidates have said--and what their stances could mean for employers. Register for this webcast Recent Webcasts: Available 'On Demand' Making Pay for Performance Pay Off for You Presenter: Sharon Koss, SPHR (Koss Management Consulting) As part of a strategic planning effort, HR must ensure that the compensation philosophy supports the organization's goals. In this webcast, Sharon Koss, author of Solving the Compensation Puzzle (SHRM, 2008), explores how HR can ensure the success of an organization’s pay-for-performance compensation strategy and prevent serious consequences such as employee turnover and lawsuits. This webcast is sponsored by Salary.com. View this webcast Also Available: Financial Stress in the Workplace Presenter: E. Thomas Garman (Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation) Communicating CDHPs to Your Workforce Presenters: Suzanne McGarey (Employee Benefit Solutions) and Lane Transou, SPHR, (Global Industries Ltd.) Workers' Comp: Practical Overview and Recent Developments Presenter: Dr. Richard Victor (Workers Compensation Research Institute) A Guide to Wage and Hour Compliance in 2008 Presenters: Tammy D. McCutchen and Lisa Schreter (Littler Mendelson) and Shanti Atkins (Employment Law Training Inc.) New Challenges in Combating Absenteeism Presenter: Cornelia Gamlem, SPHR (GEMS Group) To Outsource or Insource: New Choices for Benefit Managers Presenter: Susan King (Aon Consulting New Proposed Cafeteria Plan Regulations: Steps to Take Now Presenter: Susan Relland (Miller & Chevalier Chartered) Benefits Update: Where We Are, Where We Are Going Presenter: Gary Kushner (Kushner & Co.) Contain Health Care Costs Through Wellness Incentives Presenter: Michael Carter (Hay Group) View all upcoming and currently viewable "on demand" Compensation & Benefits webcasts, here.

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