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A recent nationwide study found that more and more businesses and workers are benefiting from voluntary employee benefits programs. According to the Prudential Insurance Company State of Group Voluntary Benefits survey: More than six in ten employees surveyed (63%) believe that voluntary benefits increase the value of their company's benefits program. The percentage of employees who would like to receive more benefits grew to 34% from 24% a year ago. One in three employees feels that losing their voluntary benefits would be disruptive and expensive. "Employers and employees agree on the value of voluntary benefits," says Bob Patience Prudential Group Vice President, Voluntary Benefits Insurance. "Employers see an increase in employees' satisfaction with these programs, while employees appreciate their employers' endorsement of the products offered, and believe they get good value because of their employers' involvement and diligence." Voluntary benefits offers workers a number of advantages, including the education and resources they need to make informed decisions based on their needs. Taking full advantage of these programs is a great way for employees to improve their "wellness" - both physical and financial. What's more, voluntary benefits offer workers the convenience of employer-based enrollment systems and "pain free" payroll deduction. What employees saw as the primary advantage of voluntary benefits varied based on age, education, and gender. More than three in five workers (62%) over the age of 60 focused on the guaranteed coverage feature. More than half (56%) of college graduates preferred the wide range of available products. A slightly higher percentage (53%) of women than of men (45%) chose the convenience of payroll deductions. Our agency's professionals would be happy to advise you on creating or updating, your Voluntary Benefits program - just give us a call.

For your workers to enjoy the full financial benefits from their 401(k) plans, experts recommend that employee education sessions make sure that participants: Contribute enough to receive the maximum match. One expert estimates that at least one in three employees don’t make the maximum contribution, which means they’re leaving free money on the table. Avoid account trading. Because it’s all too easy for plan participants to panic at market bottoms and be over-confident at tops, advise them not to open their account statements during these periods. Diversify. Concentrating account balances in one or a few funds that employees feel will perform well or are safe means making a risky bet on only one economic scenario. Keep their money in the plan. Employees who take out loans on their funds, make withdrawals or cash out a 401(k) when they change jobs will have to pay taxes and penalties that reduce plan payout by almost 50%, which will make it impossible to save enough for retirement. Keep saving. Workers stop saving for a number of reasons. The equity market falls, their spouse loses a job, they want to save outside the plan for a home, car, boat, marriage, etc. It’s far better to lower their contribution if necessary, without going to 0%. Remember, employees need to average 15% in savings over an entire career to retire at their current standard of living. Focus on the bottom line. The most important factor in a 401(k) is not the allocation of assets, market timing, or investment performance, although these are important. It’s how much the employee saves! Make sure that you follow these guidelines in retirement planning education for your employees. They’ll be grateful for your encouragement and support.

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Miguel Angel Fragoso-Hernandez sets goal of medical career in Watsonville WATSONVILLE >> At Pajaro Valley High School, Miguel Angel Fragoso-Hernandez is known as Nino, or Kid, a nickname bestowed during his freshman year, when, a year younger than most students after skipping first grade, he was the smallest player on the junior varsity soccer team. But Fragoso-Hernandez, now a 17-year-old graduating senior and class valedictorian, has another title in mind: doctor. He'll take a step toward achieving his career goal when he enrolls at UC Berkeley in the fall to study biology or biochemistry. At a graduation ceremony Thursday, he plans to remind his classmates how they reached this point in their lives. "It's not like you did it on your own. Your teachers helped you. Your parents helped you all through your life," Fragoso-Hernandez said. "At the same time, (the graduates) sit here because they worked for it." Fragoso-Hernandez will speak from experience. His parents, Martin Fragoso and Julia Hernandez, emigrated from Santiago Tulantepec in Hidalgo, Mexico, to the U.S. in their teens. They were very poor, Fragoso-Hernandez said. His father scrounged from garbage cans to get enough to eat. His mother, living on a rural ranch, watched two siblings die in childhood. Here, they worked in the fields at first, but later Miguel's father became an auto mechanic and eventually bought the business from his boss. After volunteering at Freedom Elementary School, his mother was hired to supervise students at recess. As the family's income improved, they were able to move from a series of crowded garages into a three-bedroom apartment in a Holohan Road complex. Though he was only 7 at the time, Fragoso-Hernandez recalls his amazement at the space and the fact that the apartment had its own kitchen. Growing up, he watched his father work two jobs at times, and his mother devote herself to work and raising three sons. But he didn't understand what they were trying to accomplish until high school. "I thought they came to find a better life for themselves," Fragoso-Hernandez said. "I didn't realize until my sophomore year that the ultimate goal was to have a better life for their children." Though neither Fragoso nor Hernandez went to school past the sixth grade, they knew education was the key to reaching that goal, and they instilled that value in their children. Fragoso-Hernandez said math and science captured his interest at any early age. He paid attention as his older brother did his homework, and by the end of kindergarten he had mastered multiplication. He finishes high school with a 4.24 grade point average. In addition, he was a forward on the varsity soccer team for three years, and has worked as a math tutor in an after-school program for elementary students since he was 14. His father's struggles with poor health led him to decide on a medical career, either as a general practitioner or a surgeon. "I grew up seeing him with all these problems, and I wanted to be able to do something but I couldn't," he said. "I want to be able to do something for someone in the same situation." When Fragoso-Hernandez was in middle school, the family moved to Gilroy, but he and his two brothers, Eric, a sophomore at Cal State Monterey Bay, and Marco, a seventh-grader at Lakeview Middle School, elected to commute each day so they could remain in Watsonville schools. The three brothers were born in Watsonville, and Fragoso-Hernandez considers the city home. Once he earns his medical degree, he plans to return. "Without Watsonville, I wouldn't be where I am today," he said. "I want to give back to this community." Content provided by http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/education/ci_25899165/valedictorian-credits-immigrant-parents-providing-opportunity