Join us for four free one-hour web briefings on hot HR topics from the comfort of your own desk.

Improving plan performance and governance in unexpected places
Speakers: Jeff Kearney and Paul Sachs 

In addition to governance and cost challenges in daily operations, event-driven operations - such as transitions or unbundling defined contribution plans - can present unique issues, risks, and costs that should be handled by experienced professionals.
 
Mercer IC’s Jeff Kearny and Paul Sachs will share their insights regarding opportunities for fiduciaries to reduce costs and manage their investment operations better.
 
Using a presentation and case study approach, they will discuss how to:

• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, increase returns and generate revenues

• Increase the efficiency of manager and custodian interactions

• Execute large asset transitions effectively

• Enhance fund governance

Don’t miss this one-hour web briefing on 12 December starting at 2 pm ET. This is your chance to gain practical insight on reducing costs and increasing fund returns.
 

Tuesday, 12 December 2006, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET

An update on avian flu and pandemic risks
Speakers: Dr. Toby Merlin, Centers for Disease Control; Gary Lynch, Marsh; Neal Drawas, Kroll; and Rosaline Chow Koo, Mercer HR Consulting

On 13 December, join experts from Mercer HR Consulting, Marsh, Kroll, as well as government and industry for an update on avian flu issues. Topics covered in the 45-minute session will include:

• Update on what’s happened over the past year – progress and open issues – in regard to avian flu H5N1
• Antiviral stockpiling issues and concerns
• How government agencies coordinate on avian flu issues
• Continuity and supply chain issues, including organizational best practices, gaps in planning and industry specifics
• Employer/company preparedness, including training, communications, employee education and security
• Human resource issues, focusing on Asia in particular and including results of Mercer HR pandemic survey, employee concerns, travel and leave issues, and skills inventories

This audio conference is part of Marsh’s New Reality of Risk series designed to keep you informed of issues and topics that could have a dramatic impact on your organization. If you would like us to address any specific issues as part of this program, please contact us at questions@marsh.com. We look forward to sharing our insights with you in the future.
 

Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 11:00 am - 12:00 noon ET

Are you (and your employees) paying too much for your 401(k) plan?
 
For many organizations, the 401(k) plan has become the primary wealth accumulation vehicle for retirement. As fiduciaries of these plans, plan sponsors and administrators are required under ERISA to ensure the fees for recordkeeping, investment management and other services are reasonable, incurred solely for the benefit of plan participants and fully disclosed. A new wave of class action lawsuits filed in September highlights the importance of plan sponsors fulfilling their fiduciary duty to make certain the 401(k) plan fees are appropriate.
 
Frequently, 401(k) and other defined contribution plans are administered with little or no direct cost to the plan sponsor, because the investments offered in the plan include various management and brokerage fees that often generate enough revenue to offset administration costs. Yet the lawsuits highlight some less-than-desirable side effects from this structure, including potentially expensive investment options and insufficient communication to employees around fees.
 
In this web briefing, we will provide an overview of the recent class action lawsuits, background on the various fees and investment expenses typically found in defined contribution plans, a discussion of plan sponsors’ governance responsibilities and a suggested course of action for plan sponsors. We hope you can join us!
 

Thursday, 14 December 2006, 12 noon - 1:00 pm ET