Fundamentals of Retirement Benefits

Negotiate, procure, and administer attractive benefits packages. Learn how an understanding of retirement plans can enhance their value to the organization and its employees.

Description

As an HR professional, successfully negotiating, procuring, and administering an attractive benefits package enhances your value to your organization and employees.

This course explores the current environment of the benefits industry and goes in-depth into retirement plans.

Who Should Take This Course?

HR generalists who require a comprehensive overview of the benefits function, and individuals who have recently acquired responsibility for benefits administration and/or planning.

Course Format

eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

This course contains the following modules:

• The World of Benefits
• Vocabulary and tools of the trade used in the benefits world
• The different components of benefits programs
• The importance of communication to any benefits program
• Retirement Plans
• Understanding the retirement planning goals of individuals
• Ways in which retirement plans can be structured
• The difference between defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Communicating the features of retirement benefit plans to employees

Benefits to the Learner

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Define and describe retirement benefits terms and concepts
• Recognize the difference between defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Identify retirement benefit initiatives for your organization to consider
• Communicate (or assist in communicating) the features of retirement benefit plans to management and employees
• Begin to develop the skills needed to establish an ongoing relationship with employees, benefit experts, and service providers in order to help people understand their retirement benefits and make the right decisions

Authoring Faculty

M. Michael Markowich, Ph.D., Extension Faculty

Deborah Peters, Teaching Associate

Sponsoring School

Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Total Learning Time

Approximately 5-6 hours over a period of two weeks.

Certificate Information

This course can be applied toward the following certificates:

• HR: Benefits and Compensation
• Human Resources Studies


HRCI Recertification

This course been approved for six (6) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute. Please contact the Human Resource Certificate Institute (HRCI) for further information about certification or recertification.