Ceridian Enhances Its Retirement Planning Education Service

Ceridian, a company in managed human resource outsourcing solutions that maximize the value of people, announced today that it has added a new, first-of-its-kind interactive online retirement planning tool to its work-life and employee assistance program (EAP) Web site, LifeWorks Online.



The retirement planning tool, available to employees of organizations that provide Ceridian EAP and work-life services as part of their employee benefit package, combines life planning and information about non-financial aspects of retirement, such as relocating, volunteering and lifelong learning, as well as financial education. While many organizations provide assistance with financial planning for retirement (and Ceridian is one of them, with the financial education and information offered through its EAP/work-life and retirement planning services products), this tool also prompts people to think about how theyíd like to live their lives in their 60s, 70s, and beyond. The result is a personal roadmap that then motivates saving and life planning to achieve tangible goals. This retirement planner is an online counterpart to the life planning counseling Ceridian already offers people calling in direct to LifeWorks.

Customers who access the planner online complete a series of thought-provoking questions and rankings exercises. At each stage of their assessment, they are provided with customized reports that include links to articles and resource lists. It also offers people insight into values and priorities, helping them understand more fully the role work plays in their lives, how couples can approach life planning together, and how financial planning affects choices in later life.

Most importantly, the tool helps customers set goals and identify steps to take to get to the life they want in their future. Customers who complete the tool end up with a plan of action they can begin working on right away.

ìIndividuals today face a ínew retirementí lasting decades and characterized by continued work of some sort, pursuit of an active and fulfilling lifestyle, and social contribution in addition to leisure,î said Diane Piktialis Ph.D., director of work-life services for Ceridian. ìTraditional retirement planning focused solely on financial retirement plans is failing a majority of American workers. Retirement plans should not start with finances only, rather they should begin with what one wants to accomplish personally and professionally. Those individual goals should drive a personís financial goals and planning.î

In addition to providing retirement planning education, Ceridian is one of the largest independent record keepers in the U.S., servicing over 1,000 retirement plans with a quarter million plan participants. Ceridian is a leading provider of all types of retirement plans including 401(k)s, profit sharing, money purchase and defined benefit plans. In 2004, Ceridian launched its Mid-Life and Retirement Planning service, a high touch, personalized way to educate employees about the many dimensions of retirement. It enables plan participants to look at their entire financial picture, as well as the non-financial ílifeí aspects, of mid-life and retirement including: aging well, managing finances, saving for retirement, and designing a retirement life that brings satisfaction and fulfillment. The addition of this new online, interactive retirement planning tool represents Ceridianís continual expansion of providing innovative tools as part of its retirement plan administration offerings.

Ceridian was the nationís first provider of fully integrated EAP, work-life and wellness services. Today, Ceridianís EAP and work-life services are utilized by more than 25,000 organizations worldwide of all sizes in virtually every industry. In 2003, the company received the íBusiness of the Year Award for Exemplary Business Programsí from the American Society on Aging and in 2004 and 2005 it won the íCaregiver Friendly Award.í Ceridian also recently gained accreditation from Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services, an international, independent, not-for-profit accrediting body of social and behavioral healthcare services. The Mature Market Resource Center awarded Ceridian the 2004 World Wide Web Mature Media Award in recognition of its innovations in elder care and retirement planning educational services.