The Markets January 16, 2009

Saks Suspends 401(k) Match, Drops 1,100 Jobs

Upscale retailer Saks has joined a host of U.S. employers in suspending its 401(k) match as part of a broad $50-million to $60-million cost-cutting campaign that includes axing about 1,100 jobs.
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A Saks Inc. news release said the 401(k) match suspension would last at least a year, and that it is also cutting any merit pay hikes across the company and freezing future accruals in its defined benefit pension plan. The benefits changes will be effective for the 2009 plan year, the company said.

“Our financial performance is increasingly being challenged by some of the most difficult economic conditions our company has faced in its 84-year history,” said Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks Incorporated, in a release. “It is our expectation that the economic environment will remain extremely challenging through 2009, if not beyond. The sustained downturn in the economy and the decline in luxury consumer demand necessitates that we take appropriate and decisive measures to position the Company for this new operating environment.”

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As far as the workforce cuts, Sadove said in the release that the majority of affected associates will be notified shortly, and most position eliminations will be effective by January 30. Eligible associates will be offered appropriate severance packages.

The company also identified additional non-employee based cost reductions, primarily in the areas of procurement, information technology, distribution and logistics, travel, and marketing.

Saks Incorporated operates 53 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 51 Saks OFF 5TH stores, and saks.com.

Products January 15, 2009

Firm Rolls out Web Site for Pre-Retirees

Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC, has launched Learning to Retire, an interactive, online learning application designed to help educate near-retirees about the upcoming transition.
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The company said in a release that the new offering was designed to reduce the confusion and stress often associated with planning for the transition into retirement: confusion and stress that so often cause individuals to avoid planning altogether.

According to the release, Learning to Retire incorporates a retirement readiness quiz with user feedback and a resource portal with links to various federal and nonprofit Web destinations pre-retirees may visit for further information.

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The product can be branded and customized to reflect each provider’s unique value proposition, and includes education on a wide range of retirement transition topics, both financial and nonfinancial, the release said.

“We wanted to create something completely new, something accessible and fun that would help near-retirees gain confidence, a sense of control over their destinies, and something that would prompt action,” said Loni Porta, Convergent’s director of education, in the release.

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