Benefits April 12, 2011

Social Security Statements Increase Knowledge

April 12, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new study finds that the Social Security Statement received annually by workers increases the probability of workers reporting a benefit estimate by 4.5 percentage points.
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According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal, biennial, and nationally representative survey of older Americans that began in 1992, shows that before the Statements started circulating, around 50% of households would contact the Social Security Administration by age 62. The CRR found the Statement appears to have improved the estimates for workers who did not contact the SSA, bringing the accuracy of their estimates in line with those of the workers who did contact the SSA. 

However, the analysis found no impact of the Statement on retirement behavior. CRR said this result might mean either workers are already behaving optimally or the information in the Statement is not sufficient to improve their retirement behavior.   

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CRR contends that the Statement might still improve workers’ retirement planning if they become less likely to be surprised by the amount of their benefits. For example, if workers learned that their Social Security benefits would be less than anticipated, they might not change when they plan to retire, but they could decide to save more in advance.  

The CRR Issue Brief is here.
Products April 12, 2011

ADP Promotes Online Payroll System for Small Businesses

April 12, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than 100,000 small business owners are now using ADP’s online payroll management solution, RUN Powered by ADP.
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According to a press release, RUN allows small businesses to manage their payroll over a secure, Web-based platform to process payroll for employees and contractors.  It also helps to reduce risk by assisting them with best practices for HR compliance, including employee policy handbooks, hiring guidelines and employment law tips and alerts.  

With RUN, clients can: 

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  • Enter and review payroll information for employees and contractors;  
  • Pay via checks or direct deposits;  
  • Calculate earnings and deductions as well as federal, state and local taxes;  
  • Review hours and earnings to confirm accuracy before payroll is processed;  
  • Preview payroll liability and cash required, and confirm funds to be withdrawn;  
  • Review reports from the current and previous periods in real time; and  
  • Access HR411, a suite of tools to help better manage HR needs. 

 

 

RUN is available on iPhones, iPads and iPods, with Android and RIM-compatible versions scheduled to be released in the near future.

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