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Want to know whether you can afford to retire early? Whether you should choose a basic or a contributory pension? What kind of health insurance plan is best for you? Now you can figure it out from the comfort of your own computer, thanks to a new benefits Web site launched by Human Resources and Employee Relations. Unlike the Employee Self-Service facility we told you about in CTR’s Sept. 13 issue, this one doesn’t require a PIN number. It’s a sophisticated calculator accessed through Internet Explorer that can help you try out various scenarios. To access the benefits calculator, go to www.concordia.ca/hr, then go to the Benefits section and choose “A World to Discover.” You can choose from “Money,” “Health,” and “Life Events.” For instance, you could enter your birth date, your dates of hire and of entry to the pension plan, your sex and marital status, your current salary and your retirement date, at age 65 or earlier. Add an estimated inflation rate (say, 3 per cent), an estimated salary increase, and the average rate of return on your RRSP, if you have one. The pension projection tool will tell you what your annual pension is likely to be under those circumstances. Gilles Bourgeois, Executive Director of HR & ER, said that a month-long “sneak preview” of the benefits Web site elicited about 20 responses, all of them favourable. The department plans to send future bulletins by e-mail first, following up with printed material for employees who require or prefer it. This is a reverse of previous practice, and an indication of how thoroughly the computer has become the communications medium of choice at Concordia. Information sessions, providing opportunities to ask HR/ER personnel specific questions about these Web sites, will be held Tuesday, Jan. 15, in H-762, one from 12:15 to 1 p.m., and from 1:15 to 2 p.m. There will also be a session on the Loyola Campus, on Friday, Jan. 19, in AD-308, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. |