Recent trends toward earlier retirement have exacerbated the financial problems facing the Social Security system and many other public and private pension plans. The massive commitment of public and private funds to Social Security and pension funds is partly responsible for the trend to early retirement. This, in fact, was one of the early goals…

The purpose of this report is to examine some of the problems of communication with employees about pension and welfare benefits. Issues discussed relate to (1) employees' attitudes toward benefits and benefit communication, (2) the structure of private benefit programs, (3) the case for fair labeling, and (4) the trend toward statutory criteria…

Uses one company's experience with its pension plan as an example of good communication with employees concerning the details and the value of benefit plans. (IRT)

The author explains how one company managed a shutdown while avoiding difficult problems. He describes a five-action plan that focused on all the following areas: severance and benefits, communication, training and development, job opportunities, and retirement planning. This plan is then evaluated and recommendations to improve the plan are…

Use of flexible staffing arrangements--including temporary help agency, short-term, on-call, regular part-time, and contract workers--is widespread and two-thirds of employers believe this trend will increase in the near future. A study examined which employers use flexible staffing arrangements, why they use these arrangements, and their…