Corporations

Like the public sector, the private sector faces the same dilemmas - higher average wage costs and increased benefit costs,underfunded pensions and other retirement benefits.

It's been well publicized that the "baby boomers" have inadequate savings, which means they cannot retire as early as their parents did. With the recent stock market decline, many of those that had saved for retirement saw their portfolios lose 40% or more. As a result, many will need to work beyond the standard retirement age. This will drive up the average cost of wages and benefits, squeezing the bottom line.

Pensions are not adequately funded nor are other post-retirement benefits. Many companies find themselves unable to meet the obligations promised to retirees. Companies have switched from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. Some have even discontinued their pension plans for new hires - several large, multi-national companies have already done this and many more will look at "freezing" their defined benefits plans. More and more companies will be switching to either defined contributions or 401(k) plans, or a combination of the two.

Current rules require companies to contribute the amount of any funding shortfall, spread over seven years. Given the volatile market, poor earnings by pension funds and more people retiring on a daily basis than at any other time in history, what is the solution to this ever-growing problem? New and creative solutions are needed to solve these problems, and we are confident that we have just the Solution.