 |
|||||||||
MHA
Service Corporation Professional Search Services, Stephen O’Connor,
Senior Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . .May
2007 |
|||||||||
|
Phased-Retirement
Plan Could Bolster Workforce
|
|||||||||
In an effort to avoid future labor shortages and encourage employees who want to keep working into their sixties, the U.S. Treasury Department has proposed regulations that would allow phased-retirement benefits. The rules would enable employees between 59 and 1/2 and 65 to work part-time while drawing some income from their defined-benefit pension plans. Workers could choose to work half their normal hours, for instance, and draw half their retirement pay. Or they could keep a three-quarter-time schedule and draw a quarter of their normal pension check. Upon full retirement, they would receive full pensions. The government currently does not allow workers to tap defined-benefit plans if they work a reduced schedule. Under the plan, employers could offer the phased option to a targeted group of employees, or just during periods when the labor market is tight. And participating workers whose benefits are determined by final compensation levels would not see their retirement pay level dip, thanks to built-in protections. Officials believe the changes will expand the workforce. But the potential downside would be if more people saw the option as a nice way to reduce their hours several years earlier than they normally would. Experts view that as an unlikely outcome, however. “We do not know whether the net effect of this is to encourage more work or more retirement,” says Edward Zelinsky, a law professor at Yeshiva University. “The intuition that people like myself have is that the net effect is going to be to increase people’s work opportunity.” Adapted from “Plan Would Let Workers Ease into Retirement,” by Kathleen Pender, in the San Francisco Chronicle
|
|||||||||
As the number of available workers dips, managers are being forced to consider a variety of alternatives to fill their employee rosters. One popular option: rehiring retirees. But is it the best option for you? Weigh these pros and cons:
Adapted from “Hiring Retired Workers: Pros and Cons,” by Linda Nash, in HR Hero Line |
|||||||||
by Stephen O'Connor Age
has a way of sneaking up on you. One day you look down at your
wrinkled, vascular hands
There are also additional ways to tell that the old youth train has left the station. Things like your best friend is dating someone half her age and isn’t breaking any laws; you bought cable just for the weather channel; or you constantly talk about the price of gasoline. As syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker recently wrote, “Youth, they say, is wasted on the young. Maybe retirement is wasted on the old.” I think our culture has this whole retirement thing bass ackwards. You should be allowed to retire when you’re young enough to enjoy it, at 50. Travel, grow a pony tail, play in a garage band, start a Barry Manilow fan club. Do what you want, until age 65 or 70. Then you’d be required to go back to work until you couldn’t anymore. People would live longer because they’d be more active and engaged. They’d pay a lot more FICA withholdings for their children’s social security benefits. This perspicacious public policy may be a little ahead of its time, however. Until the social scientists discover the genius of my plan, we’ll have to settle for the next best thing: Phased Retirement. This is a strategy to retain some of your best long-term employees and mitigate the “brain-drain” that occurs when a more senior employee abruptly leaves the organization. This flexible scheduling option allows your senior employees to work reduced hours over a period of time leading up to retirement. Universities have been using phased retirement for years. This approach buys time for succession planning and creates a pool of experienced part timers. Extending the shelf life of your senior employees through phased retirement allows for more of the institutional memory to be imparted to younger staff rather than loosing it to a condo in Cocoa Beach or a cottage in Cadillac. A recent study done by Rutgers University found that 90 percent of the people surveyed plan to keep working after retirement and 68 percent intend to keep working even if they can afford not to. Also, an AARP and Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that 23 percent of Americans between age 65 and 69 are already in the work force. Their study reported that 84 percent of seniors who are willing to work wanted to do so part time and 60 percent of them would accept less money to do so. In addition, the Social Security Administration has removed the earnings penalty for full social security benefits for those between 65 and 69 years. Plus, if your senior employees are eligible for Medicare they’ll consume less health insurance benefits. There is one caveat. Be sure that your defined benefit pension plan is calculated on the five highest earning years, not the last five. You don’t want to create the disincentive of a lower pension payout because your senior employee worked part time during their last five years. None of this, however, will shelter you from the humbling realization of advancing age when a friend calls at 9 p.m. and asks, “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” This article originally appeared in the May/June 2001 issue of Michigan Health & Hospitals magazine and is being used with permission. |
|||||||||
Studies show older workers suffering job-related injuries take longer to recover than younger workers, so it pays to keep injuries from happening in the first place. For starters, says John Buck, director of corporate safety, health, and environmental affairs for Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Company, don’t assume safety training is one-size-fits-all. While younger people are comfortable with computerized lessons, Buck says, older workers respond better to live instruction and hands-on training. He also recommends establishing wellness programs to help older works stay in shape, and setting up health screenings to detect chronic age-related problems-such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis-in the early stages. Adapted from “Manitowoc Company Official Offers Tips for the Workplace,” by Cindy Stone, in the Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, WI.) |
|||||||||
With more workers delaying retirement, it’s inevitable that older employees will wind up working for much younger managers. So as a young manager, how do you confidently direct employees who’ve spent more years in the workforce than you have? Remember these do’s and don’ts:
Adapted from “Young Workers Reaching for Management,” by Hanah Cho, in the Baltimore Sun
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Steve
O'Connor, SPHR, |
Professional Search Services
When you need a healthcare management recruiter, call Steve O’Connor at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association in Lansing, MI at (517) 663-5755. He’s the search consultant who produces this monthly newsletter and has hundreds of management candidates currently registered with his service. Most are open to relocation. You are also invited to browse his web site for more information on Professional Search Services at www.mhaservicecorp.com. Available positions may include: CEO/CFO/COO/VP • Facilities Management • Finance • Food Service • Fund Development • Health Information Management • Home Health Care • Human Resources • Information Systems • Managed Care • Management Engineering • Marketing/Public Relations • Materials Management • Nursing Administration • Physician Practice Administrators • Planning• Rehabilitation Management • Social Work • Training and Development • Utilization Review For more information contact: Stephen
O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director Corporate Office:
|
||||||||
Professional
Search Services
|
|||||||||
Management
Recruiting for the Health Care Community |
|||||||||
Stephen
O’Connor, SPHR, Senior Director
Full Service Background Screening Sales Department |
|||||||||
