Duke HR - News

In addition to the Quarterly Market Update, faculty and staff can take advantage of several other opportunities to learn more about retirement planning.

Retirement Plan Overview
Duke Human Resources Benefits Office hosts a monthly seminar that provides an overview of Duke's retirement plans. Sign-up online for these seminars, which are held monthly from 1 - 2 p.m. in Conference Room 03 at 705 Broad Street. (The free H5 bus connects 705 Broad Street with Duke Hospital, Duke Clinic and Hock Plaza every 15 minutes.)

Social Security Primer
The Duke University Federal Credit Union will offer a one-hour lunchtime seminar on August 18 at the Searle Center about Social Security benefits. Register online or call 919-660-9745.

Individual Retirement Vendor Sessions
Each of the five vendors supporting Duke's retirement plans offers free appointments for faculty and staff to discuss existing investment accounts or learn more about the investment options they offer. A full listing of when and where these free sessions are held is available online.

Duke Pilots Quarterly Investment Update for Employees

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, Duke faculty and staff with questions about the twists and turns of the investment market will have a new source of information: The Quarterly Market Update.

As part of ongoing efforts to help employees educate themselves about financial matters, Duke Human Resources is piloting these quarterly meetings, which will be presented by experts from investment companies that support Duke retirement plans. Employees can choose from five investment companies when participating in Duke retirement plans - Fidelity, DWS Investments (formerly Scudder), TIAA-CREF, VALIC (formerly AIG), and Vanguard.

"The last several months have been a confusing time for many investors," said Sylvester Hackney, associate director of benefits at Duke. "One of the things we have learned from the recent market turmoil is the importance of understanding what is happening with our investments and the importance of reviewing our investments to ensure that we have a diversified portfolio." The market updates are open to all faculty and staff, regardless of whether they participate in Duke's retirement plans.

During the first seminar on Aug. 4, Jeff Tackett, Fidelity Investment's regional planning consultant, will take an in-depth look into the driving forces behind the recent market volatility and discuss factors that impact the performance of retirement investments. He will also discuss what drives changes in bond-market interest rates and valuations.

To accommodate employee schedules, the August 4 Quarterly Market Update will be offered twice:

11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. in Duke Hospital North Room 2001

4-5 p.m. in Von Cannon Room, Bryan Center

Call 1-800-642-7131 or visit the Fidelity web site to register.

"Investment accounts are one important part of planning for retirement," said Hackney. "Understanding what is happening in these investments, and how they fit in with the other two parts of retirement planning — personal savings and social security — is an important key to feeling more comfortable about the future. We hope faculty and staff will take advantage of these new Quarterly Market Update opportunities to help them make more informed investment decisions."

— by Marsha A. Green, Writer
Office of Communication Services