Posted: October 27th, 2022

Benefits and retirement savings plan

Assignment Topic:
Benefits and retirement savings plan
OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this assignment is to develop an appropriate benefit and retirement savings program for the Great Canadian Company (GCC) Ancaster to support it with achieving its business objectives. You are the benefits and pensions advisor to the owner of the Great Canadian Company Ancaster.

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT:

You will prepare a report outlining your benefits and retirement savings plan, as well as the supporting communication plan and the rationale for your recommendations. There are 2 parts to the Report:

• Part 1: due Nov. 2
– Describe the total compensation philosophy for your company
– Identify the goals of having a benefit and retirement savings plan
– Propose the benefit plan design
–
The Great Canadian Company located in Ancaster (GCC) is a boutique retail company located across Canada. The company was started by the owner in 1990. It now has annual revenues of $55,000,000 and operates in 15 locations across Canada.

Currently private, the company expects to go public in 2023, when sales are expected to hit $65 million. The business requires new capital expenditures to continue its growth and the public stock offering will create the cash required for growth. The pace of the company’s business is rapid. New products and services are the only way to stay ahead of the competition.

Employment has increased from 10 in 1990 to 450 in 2019; current employee demographics are:

20s 30s 40s 50plus TOTAL
Full-time (FT) 44 44 16 25 129
Part-time (50% of FT) 131 133 49 8 321
% single 73% 94% 85% 76%
% married to FT 27% 6% 15% 24%

Salaries: based on a 7 hour day
Average hourly pay $16.95 $22.15 $45.50 $65.50

While all employees are currently non-union, there are some reliable sources indicating staff are looking to unionize in the Vancouver and Montreal locations. The owner is concerned that the company is growing so fast that the collegial atmosphere is disappearing. Turnover has been just around the industry average (35%) and lately, turnover among new hires is increasing more than the overall average.

The owner senses the need for a professionally designed benefits and retirement savings plan. Funds are available but not unlimited. The expectation of going public puts pressure on the firm to look responsible and conservative to potential investors. However, the owner wants to maintain the corporate culture that made the company successful.

No formal indirect compensation plan or retirement savings plan currently exists. Instead, employees are hired based on market rates and the benefits package has been based on government sponsored benefits only.

YOUR DELIVERABLES:

The owner of GCC has hired you as the benefits advisor to design a benefits and retirement savings plan with supporting communications to support the company to achieve its many objectives.

Required Report Content
1 Write a letter of introduction about your consulting company and what you are going to do for your client. This letter generally deals with the “scope” of the project and the specific recommendations you are making.
15
2 Identify the total compensation philosophy for your company and the specific goals for having a benefit and retirement savings plan. Include a description of the issues that a benefit and pension plan will address and include and assumptions you are making in preparing this Report.
15
3 Provide your recommended benefit plan design; this may be fixed or flex, one plan or several “job level” specific plans. Include plan eligibility and other key design criteria.
40

Notes:
We have to create a benefit AND retirement savings plan
The company’s annual revenue is $55,000,000 – funds are available but not unlimited
Most of the workforce are part-time workers
Most of the employees are single
There are all ages from 20s to 50s hired in the company
Employees are planning to unionize (impact?)
Turnover is increasing more than the overall average (cannot retain staff? why?)
Employees are hired based on market rates
The benefits package has been based on government sponsored benefits ONLY

1. Write an introduction letter to describe the compensation philosophy (what we will do for the client and specific recommendations)

– A compensation philosophy = a formal statement documenting the company’s position about employee compensation (explains the “why” behind employee pay and creates a framework for consistency), used to attract, retain and motivate employees

2. Identify the goals of having a benefit (PROTECT, REPLACE, SUPPLEMENT, ENHANCE) and retirement savings plan

– We need to accommodate both full-time and part-time associates more or less equally, as most of the workforce are part-time workers
– Establish a benefits plan that attracts and retains talent, it has to be competitive

3. Propose the benefits plan design (see PowerPoint in BB)

– Step 1: decide on total rewards philosophy and strategy, discuss direct compensation, indirect compensation, deferred compensation, and rewards and recognition
– Step 2: decide between a security driven mix, performance driven mix, or work-life balance mix
– Step 3: figure out if …
we want to offer benefit plan choices and who is eligible for the benefits,
the coverage (SEE EXCEL SAVINGS COSTING TEMPLATE),
whether we pay them directly or reimburse them,
if the company manages benefits or a third party, and
what happens to coverage if someone leaves or retires
– Step 4: choose whether we want a fixed (provide them with predetermined package) or flexible benefits plan (employees have input on what is covered, have more control over costs of benefits)