Saturday, September 29, 2012
Look! A new way to screw workers.
Sears and Darden Restaurants have announced that they are changing their health plans from defined benefit format to defined contribution.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, Sears Holdings Corp., headquartered in Hoffman Estates, and Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, reportedly are making a radical change that will be watched closely by other employers.And as with the transition from pensions to 401ks, the workers will be screwed. There is no guarantee that the funds provided will pay for a health plan to the same extent that companies currently do. And where HR staff could help and advise employees, they will become a thing of the past with the responsibility for knowing all about insurance falling on the workers. We know how well that worked with pensions.
The Wall Street Journal reports the companies will give employees a fixed amount of money, then let them choose their health insurance from an online marketplace.
The Journal says it is comparable to the transition from company-provided pensions to 401(k) retirement savings plans controlled by workers with contributions from employers.
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