Happy Friday Glad Y All Are Warming up in AL!
Happy Friday!! Glad y’all are warming up in AL!
From Tuesday’s NewsDash, a piece of trivia—
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: How did the phrase “passing the buck” originate?
January 28, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - How did the phrase “passing the buck” originate?
"Passing the buck" originated from a ritual practiced during card games. Card players used to place a marker, called a "buck," in front of the person who was the dealer. That marker was passed to the next player along with the responsibility of dealing.
Eventually "passing the buck" became synonymous with passing on responsibility.
PS
From Wednesday’s NewsDash, some tidbits from CareerBuilder about interviewing faux pas. Most of these are over the top—
Starting a Fire Will Not Win You a Job: The results of a survey from CareerBuilder show mistakes by a job applicant, whether extreme or subtle, can quickly sabotage the chances of being hired. Nearly half (49%) of employers say they know within the first five minutes of an interview whether a candidate is a good or bad fit for the position, and 87% know within the first 15 minutes. Employers shared the most extreme and memorable mistakes. MORE>
Thursday’s NewsDash had this information about DC plans (deferred contribution). We are control freaks—
Americans Like DC Arrangements: Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households view defined contribution (DC) retirement accounts favorably, according to results from a recent survey published by the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Survey results show a strong majority (90%) of account-owning households appreciate the payroll deduction features of qualified DC arrangements. Nine in 10 account-owning households also like having control of investment choices within a DC plan; the same number agreed that these plans help them to think about the long term. MORE>
Better watch this practice; it can get employers in trouble with FLSA (that falls under the helpful Labor Dept.)—
Employees Not “Braking” for Lunch: Many employees are not putting the brakes on work to enjoy a lunch break, but are merely yielding to fit lunch in, a survey suggests. Nearly half (48%) of employees interviewed by OfficeTeam said their typical lunch break lasts 30 minutes or less. In addition, 29% aren’t really taking a break at all, as they reported they work while eating lunch. MORE>
This bill sounds like a great thing for the American worker (from (b)lines on Friday)—
Harkin Plan Gets Many Thumbs Up
Proposed legislation from Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would expand access to privately run, portable retirement plans for all workers. MORE>
This should be an interesting case to follow from Illinois (a state that most of us would soon not emulate in many ways)—
Public labor unions in Illinois are suing the state to challenge a new pension reform law. The suit follows several others filed by retirees and alleges that the pension reforms, signed into law by Quinn in December 2013, violate a clause of the Illinois state constitution that says pension benefits may not be diminished or impaired. MORE>
From the Friday Files, this is an interesting way to tell if people are good liars or bad ones (it’s a YouTube)—
A quick test to see if you are—or someone else is—a good liar. MORE>
In case you were wanting to see how other cities/counties/states are fareing on their retirement plans—
State and local government employees are being asked to contribute more to their retirement plans, says a recent issue brief. “Employee Contributions to Public Pension Plans,” released by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), shows that states such as New Mexico and Wyoming have increased employee contributions for both current and future employees. In states such as Virginia and Wisconsin, new and existing employees are now required to pay contributions that were previously paid by their employers, while they get a salary bump instead. MORE>
Have a wonderful weekend!
Juanita Phillips
and
Pam Werstler