Administration October 9, 2009

Wis. Pension Board Approves $1.7-million Incentive Bonus Program

October 9, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A senior portfolio manager of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board will get a $150,000 bonus and three others $100,000 or more as part of the board's $1.7-million performance incentive program, the Associated Press reported.
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The news account said the board approved the amount for 2008 performance, but delayed payment until 12 months after the 64-member investment staff achieves a positive year of returns – likely to be 2011 since the pension program has enjoyed solid gains this year. The incentives have historically been paid in March.

In addition to those in line for potential six-figure bonuses, the news report said 20 others could get $25,000 or more, with a total of 48 investment employees to get the bonus payments.

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According to the news report, agency spokeswoman Vicki Hearing acknowledged some retirees were not happy with the bonuses, but said the board’s trustees decided they needed to reward employees who expected compensation for exceeding investment goals.

”They struggled because of the impact on the participants, and at the same time, you had staff that basically performed their job in the way they were asked to, with the idea they would be compensated for that,” Hearing said. ”This is about their active management of portfolios.”

Governor Jim Doyle has suspended bonuses for state employees since last year to save money, but the directive does not apply to the pension agency.

The board, which spent $2.45 million on bonuses last year, reduced the number of eligible employees by excluding anyone who missed investment benchmarks. Three top agency officials — executive director Keith Bozarth, deputy executive director Gail Hanson and chief investment officer David Villa — also declined bonuses.

The board manages and invests assets for the ninth largest public pension fund in the U.S., which includes retirement funds for state employees, teachers, and most municipal employees.

Similar investment bonus programs have proven controversial in a number of states where pension funds have suffered significant asset losses because of the down market (see Running the Fund: Pay for Performance ).

Products October 8, 2009

Ford Outsources Benefits Administration to ACS

October 8, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Ford Motor Company has selected Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. to provide total benefits administration services to employee and retiree participants.
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Under the new contract with Ford (which, according to a press release, was reflected in ACS’ fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 results), ACS will provide the administration of health and welfare, pension, and savings plans. These services are deployed through ACS’ call center operations and Web portal. The self-service Website provides participants information that integrates Ford’s benefit information, vendor partners, and benefit program information in “an engaging and participant-focused tool,” according to the announcement.

ACS said that the Web portal “builds upon the convergence of health and wealth benefits in the marketplace and the desire to control costs.”, and that as a result, “Ford’s partnership with ACS will enable it to transform the delivery of benefit administration services to its employees and retirees by providing information to participants to help them better manage their health and wealth decisions”.

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Customer Care Center

Additionally, ACS said it will be “investing in the southeastern Michigan community” by establishing a customer care center in Allen Park, Michigan to support its benefit administration offerings.

“This new partnership represents our commitment to providing Ford innovation in technology, tools and processes and delivering total benefits services,” said Ann Vezina, executive vice president and group president of ACS Enterprise Solutions & Services. “As a proven market leader with significant expertise in the benefits space, ACS will enable Ford to build further value for its employees and retirees.”

ACS Human Capital Management Solutions services are provided to more than 4 million employees and retirees in more than 80 countries worldwide in 20 languages. ACS’ HR business process offerings includes HR services, total benefits services, and learning management services. ACS, which is the parent company of Buck Consultants, last month agreed to be acquired by Xerox Inc. in a $6.4-billion deal designed to help more strongly diversify the Xerox revenue stream away from products into services (see  Xerox to Wed ACS in $6.4-billion Acquisition ).

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