Employers in the United States are offering more flexibility to their workers than they were 10 years ago but at the same time, fewer are offering defined benefit (DB) plans, finds a study.
The Families and Work Institute’s 2008 National Study of Employers finds that 79% of employers offer more flexibility and now allow at least some employees to periodically change their arrival and departure time, up from 68% in 1998.
The study also reveals that 60% of employers provide wellness programs compared with 56% in 1998, 39% of employers provide access to information about services for elderly family members—an increase of 16 percentage points from 10 years ago, and 65% provide employee assistance programs, compared to 56% in 1998.
However, not all the findings are good for employees. Twenty-nine percent of employers provide DB plans, down from 48% in 1998 and 81% of companies make contributions to employees’ retirement plans compared with 91% 10 years ago. Also, just 4% of employers pay all of the healthcare premiums for family members today, down from 13% in 1998.
There were 1,100 employers with 50 or more employees that participated in the study.
For a copy of the study from the Families and Work Institute’s website, click here.
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Quebecers Prefer Phased Retirement
A majority of Quebecers favour phased retirement over a complete retirement, according to a survey.
The survey, conducted for the Ordre des CRHA et CRIA du Quebec, finds that 53% of respondents versus 41% who prefer an abrupt retirement.
“The fact that only half the workers are considering phased retirement is of some concern. Yet people are now healthier and living longer than previous generations,” says Florent Francoeur, Ordre president and CEO. “So we have to create conditions to increase the numbers of workers who opt for phased retirement. For example, we could adjust benefits and compensation policies, and reorganize work within organizations.”
The results from the survey also reveal that 61% of workers in Quebec plan to retire between the ages of 55 and 64, while 38% plan to retire before 60.
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HSBC Rebrands Asset Management Business
HSBC Investments (Canada) Limited will change its name to HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada) Limited effective June 2, 2008.
The name change is part of the re-naming of the HSBC Group’s investment management businesses around the world.
As part of the rebrand, all entities operating as HSBC Investments will adopt the HSBC Global Asset Management name. HSBC Global Asset Management will also encompass the specialist asset management businesses, namely Halbis Capital Management, Sinopia Asset Management, HSBC Multimanager, and HSBC Liquidity.
HSBC Global Asset Management manages assets of approximately $407 billion for institutional and individual clients around the world.
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IAPA, NQI Form Strategic Alliance
The Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) and the National Quality Institute (NQI) have formed a strategic alliance that will allow IAPA to deliver select NQI products and services.
IAPA is now an authorized provider of NQI Healthy Workplace courses and related materials, the NQI Progressive Excellence Program and related materials, as well as related services.
“We are pleased to partner with NQI in this joint effort to raise the profile of workplace health, safety, and wellness, as well as identify the advantages of a business excellence program that IAPA has benefited from in the past,” says Maureen Shaw, IAPA president and CEO. “With IAPA and NQI working collaboratively and sharing our collective knowledge, expertise, and talent, we can do more together to assist organizations in their journey towards becoming healthy workplaces.”
IAPA staff will be trained by NQI personnel to become certified instructors of the NQI courses.