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Retirement Preparation
Exchange ideas about health plans, retirement, work/life benefits, and employee assistance.
Is anyone doing retirement preparation seminars for soon-to-retire employees, especially high-level (director and above? Can it be part of a strategy to encourage people to take early retirement and p
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Forums » Topic Forums » Benefits & Compensation » Retirement Preparation
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Retirement Preparation
posted at 7/7/2010 4:57 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 7/7/2010 Last: 7/7/2010 |
Is anyone doing retirement preparation seminars for soon-to-retire employees, especially high-level (director and above? Can it be part of a strategy to encourage people to take early retirement and pare down the workforce? |
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Retirement Preparation
posted at 7/7/2010 7:52 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Yes, it can be done, but I would be very careful on a couple of points (just to name a few):
(1) Giving any type of financial or tax advice or suggesting a specific person or firm to do so. You really want to keep an arm's length away from any type of financial/tax decisions. Even something as simple as a representative from your company-sponsored 401k plan could later get your company in legal trouble if they make a suggestion that turns bad because there is a connection to the company. (2) What information is given out that promises any ongoing benefits. You will want to caveat the employer's right to make changes (as long as they are allowed under ERISA or other benefits laws). (3) You would want the retiring employee to sign a release of claims/waiver to get any extra early retirement/severance benefits. So they can't turn around and sue you for age discrimination. (4) I would NOT suggest doing this in a group setting where all the early retiree candidates are together and hear of things that may not be applicable to all of them and put together the picture that you are singling that group out -- i.e. age discrimination. Or anything that feels like they are FORCED to attend or feel pressure to do so. Personally I would only recommend doing this for a very few top or key employees and even then I would only provide it if they had given some indication that they were thinking of retiring and I had that documented well. Or I would do a seminar once the company has setup an early retirement plan that any employee in a certain age range can opt into. Again, such that it is the employee's decision to do so. |
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