One of the key pieces in successfully implementing a prevailing wage benefit plan is educating employees about its advantages.  

During the enrollment meeting, we explain to the workers how the bidding process works. Most quickly understand that savings generated by offering the plan help the company win bids, which means they're more likely to continue to have jobs.  With so many workers unemployed - many for long periods of time -- any objections usually disappear.  In addition, the plan helps them put money away for retirement and provide medical insurance for themselves and their families, as well as ancillary benefits like vision, dental, and life insurance.

We also provide a comparison between prevailing wage retirement plans and union plans. Here are some key points:

• Funds contributed to a prevailing wage retirement plan are immediately vested. Unions, on the other hand, require employees to be in the union for five years before being vested.
• Employees can access the funds in their prevailing wage retirement plan when they terminate employment. Funds in union retirement plans are held by the union until an employee retires.
• When employees terminate employment, they can receive the funds in their prevailing wage retirement plan as a lump sum. With union retirement plans, funds in the retirement plan must be received as an income stream.
• Union employees have no choice as to how the funds in their retirement plan are invested. With prevailing wage retirement plans, employees can choose among several investment options.