Weekend Reading December 14, 2012
Walmart And Kroger Are Reportedly Bidding On Hostess
Your favorite spongy cakes and baked goods may soon be back in full production. Hostess is up on the auction block and Walmart and Kroger are bidding on the assets of the former baked goods giant.
“The liquidation sale is expected to generate $1 billion.”
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Clients kind of blue over IBM’s 401(k) surprise
IBM has switched its matching policies for 401(k)s. Instead of contributing its match to employee 401(k) accounts throughout the year, the company plans to contribute a lump sum on December 31. Any employee that leaves the company for any reason besides retirement will lose their rights to the matched contributions. IBM is the first high profile company to adopt this practice, but it is unlikely that it will be the last, with other companies following suit.
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Social Security Is the Best-Funded Government Program: David Cay Johnston
Much of the talk within the fiscal cliff debates centers around the entitlement programs of the US government. Namely Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. First a little background to this article. Currently the Social Security trust fund is expected to be exhausted in 2034. Workers that expect to retire around this time should expect Social Security benefit payments to be around 75% of what they have been promised. Despite its problems Social Security is the best funded program. While I don’t agree with all of Johnston’s points, he proposes several fixes for Social Security including increasing the Social Security wage base, increasing the Social Security tax, and finding ways to eliminate defensive medicine (medicine that is prescribed for the purpose of avoiding malpractice claims.)
To learn more about Social Security and how to maximize your benefits, check out my free Social Security video course.
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Job Recruiters Eschew Monster to Find Hidden Talent on LinkedIn
As social networks grow in popularity, a greater number of recruiters are abandoning older online job boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder as their primary source. Instead, recruiters are flocking to LinkedIn, the largest professional-networking site on the internet. So, if your children or grandchildren are in need of a position, LinkedIn may be a smart addition to their job search strategy.