Newspaper Page Text
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TUESDAY,
MAY 17, 2005
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Chris Kinnas
Investment Advice
Take steps to
supplement your
retirement plan
If you follow the news - or
even if you don’t - you’re
probably aware that the
country is debating the
future of Social Security.
However, this discussion,
while important, may be
obscuring another key
issue: namely, that many
people are finding their
employer-sponsored retire
ment plans are falling short
of providing the expected
level of benefits.
Clearly, this is a scary
prospect for many workers.
Consequently, you will want
to act now to bolster your
retirement savings.
Before we look at some
moves you can make, let’s
review two factors behind
the current concerns in
company-funded plans:
• Economic pressures -
For a variety of reasons,
pension plans are becoming
more expensive for compa
nies to fund; consequently,
some plans go underfunded.
As long as a company
remains solvent, its pension
plan - even an underfunded
one - will pay out full bene
fits, but the financial pres
sure on the company to fully
fund the plan is enormous
and can cause a drag on
earnings. If companies are
in danger of insolvency, they
may not fund their pen
sions. When a company ter
minates its plan, partici
pants still won’t lose their
benefits, but they will lose
out on potentially valuable
future accruals, which typi
cally correspond with age
and length of service.
• A switch from “defined
benefit” to “defined contri
bution” - In 1979, more
than 80% of workers cov
ered by a company retire
ment plan had a “defined
benefit” plan - that is, a
traditional pension that
paid monthly benefits based
on years of service. By
2001, this percentage had
dropped to just over 40%,
according to the Center for
Retirement Research at
Boston College, as compa
nies began offering “defined
contribution” plans, such as
401(k)s. This shift from
defined benefit to defined
contribution means employ
ees are now much more
responsible for planning
and saving for their own
retirements.
What You Can Do
You cannot control “big
picture” events, such as a
plan termination or switch.
However, you can take steps
to boost your retirement
savings. Here are a few
ideas:
• Prioritize and quantify
retirement goals - You’ll be
far more likely to save for
your various retirement
goals if you rank them in
order of importance and
determine how much they
are likely to cost. You may
want to get help from a
qualified financial profes
sional.
• “Max out” on your IRA
- Try to fully fund your
Roth or traditional IRA
every year. A Roth IRA
grows tax-free provided you
meet certain conditions; a
traditional IRA grows tax
deferred.
• Consider delaying early
retirement - If you enjoy
See KINNAS, page 9A
Flint, Sonny’s host family-friendly
Chamber event
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Guests of
the recent
Business
After Hours
serve them
selves at the
serving line,
featuring
Sonny’s Real
Pit Bar-B-Q
fare.
HHJ/Rex Gambill
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More
photos,
page
9A
Brad Fink,
owner of
the local
Sonny’s
Real Pit
Bar-B-Q
restaurants,
emerges
(with son
Carter)
from the
inflatable
slide at the
family
friendly
Business
After Hours
event he
cosp o n -
sored with
Flint
Energies.
HH.J/Rex Gambill
(To send in your event for the
Business Calendar, fax the
details to 988-1181, e-mail to
hhj@evansnewspapers.com or
mail to Houston Home Journal,
P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069.
The deadline for inclusion is 5
p.m. Fridays.)
Tuesday, May 17: Starting
Your Own Business
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University ot Georgia Business
Outreach Services Small
Business Development Center,
will cover market research, legal
structures, estimating start-up
costs and cash flow projection,
financing alternatives, failure
factors and business planning. A
detailed business start-up work
book and other handouts will be
provided. Cost is S4O; prepaid
Business
BUSINESS CALENDAR
registration is required. Class
will be from 6-8 p.m. at the
ATDC Building on Osigian
Boulevard. (478) 751-6592.
Thursday, May 19: Minority
Business Conference
FORT VALLEY - A free
Minority Business Conference,
cosponsored by the Fort Valley
State University Rural Business
Outreach Institute and the
University of Georgia Small
Business Development Center,
will be held at the Pettigrew
Center on the campus of FVSU.
The conference begins at 9
a.m., followed by a working
lunch at noon and individual and
group consultations from 1-5
p.m.
Topics will include common
myths about financing a busi
ness, options in financing, Small
Jimmy
Autry of
Fli n t
Energies
was hand
ing out cold
RC Colas
and Moon
Pies at the
family
friendly
Business
After Hours
the electric
coopera
ti v e
cospon
sored with
Sonny’s
Real Pit
Bar-B-Q.
HHJ/Rex Gambill
Business Administration pro
grams, non-traditional sources
of financing, putting together a
proposal/business plan, and
dealing with credit issues. To
register, call (478) 751-6592.
Monday, May 23: Writing a
Successful Business Plan
MACON - This seminar,
sponsored by the University of
Georgia Business Outreach
Services Small Business
Development Center, explains
the sections of the business
plan, what information is
required for each section, and
the general format needed. A
detailed planning outline will be
provided. Cost is S4O; prepaid
registration is required. Class
will be from 6-8 p.m. at the
Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
(478) 751-6592.
The seeds of
opportunity
Take a moment to pause
and reflect. How did you
arrive at the point where
you are today?
I know what you’re
thinking: “Come on,
Dennis - that’s so vague!
What are you seeking
here?”
In our society, we don’t
pause and reflect very
often. We’re too busy
“doing!” We’re often so
busy “doing” that we’re
not even aware of what we
are “getting” as an out
come - especially the side
effects. We may be focused
on some particular aspect
of our life, but while
that’s occurring, there are
ancillary outcomes occur
ring, too.
Several weeks ago, I
wrote some columns
about organizational
assessments. I’ve con
ducted a few in my career,
and I was actively con
ducting another one.
Thinking through the
steps so that I could
explain the process to the
employees is what stimu
lated me to write about
the topic in this column.
My colleague and I are
finishing up the assess
ment. We delivered the
report of our findings to
all the individuals we had
interviewed. The health of
the organization is mar
ginal. The employees
asked after they had read
the report “How did we
get to where we are?”
It’s a good question and
worthy of thought. We can
improve the future if we
can identify what we
experienced in the past -
and then plan to not
repeat it.
But the more important
question for the employ
ees who are dependent on
the organization for their
livelihood is “Where are
we headed?”
Marcus AureUus wrote
a long time ago: “Observe
how all things are contin
ually being born of
change.... Whatever is, is
in some sense, the seed of
what is to emerge from
it.”
What will emerge from
this organization assess
ment is far more impor
tant to the employees of
this company than the
assessment itself. What
emerges from the current
set of circumstances is
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
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SOON THE
MARK OF THE BEAST
WILL BE ENFORCED
Those that receive it, will receive the wrath of God. Find
out who the BEAST is, and how to avoid his MARK. No
obligation. No one will call. Write or Call for free book:
THE BIBLE SAYS
P.O. BOX 771 ATHENS TN 37371
Phone Toll Free 1-888-211-1715
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Dennis Hooper
.. . even greater things .. .
dhooper2@juno.com
more important than the
sequence of events that
led up to the assessment.
My counsel to the
employees is to look for
ward in time, realizing
the wonderful opportuni
ty this assessment
affords. Consider what
great responses they
could make happen as a
result of this situation!
There could easily be in
this assessment the seeds
of something great! This
company could contribute
an innovation that
changes the lives of people
on this planet forever.
Or this situation could
cause a leader to emerge -
someone who might never
have stepped forward, or
invested himself, or devel
oped her skills.
You don’t need an orga
nizational assessment to
cause you to stop and
reflect! Consider whatev
er situation you happen to
find yourself in as a seed
from which you could
grow great things!
I’ve decided to look at
every situation in which I
find myself as being laden
with possibilities.
If we could be routinely
“possibility thinking,” we
would quickly become
aware that there are
opportunities all around!
We bypass huge numbers
of opportunities just
because we are not con
scious of our abilities to
capitalize. Wow! Wake up!
The rapid pace of our
society tends to cause us
to pass by situations
much too quickly. The
seeds of opportunity are
too easily cast aside.
Help me to remember
that each situation con
tains “the seed of what is
to emerge from it.”
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhooper2@juno.com
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