Industry Updates

43% of American workers have less than $10,000 in retirement savings

Results of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence survey, released March 9th, reveal that 43% of American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, up from 39% in 2009. Perhaps even more startling is the percentage who have saved less than $1,000: 27%, an increase of 7% over last year. The percentage of respondents who have saved for retirement fell from 75% of those surveyed to 69% this year.

EBRI’s research director says that while the economy has played a part in these figures, it’s not entirely to blame.

“People just don’t want to think about this,” says Jack VanDerhei, co-author of the survey. “Everybody thinks they’re too young to think about it, until suddenly they’re too old to do anything about it.”

The survey shows that because of this failure to plan and save, many Americans are forced to delay their retirement.

Read the entire article here.

Manning & Napier is in the news again!

A recent article in SmartMoney magazine selected Manning & Napier’s Pro-Blend Moderate Term Fund (EXBAX) as one of the best balanced funds. According to an editor’s note, SmartMoney focuses on funds run by managers who have successfully navigated years worth of market euphoria and panic -- and helped keep investors ahead. Read the article here.

Construction Starts Up in January 2010

According to a report recently released by Reed Construction Data, the value of construction starts, excluding residential, in January 2010 is up 30% over the monthly average for the first half of 2009. The report projects that availability of financing for institutional buildings will not improve the first half of 2010, and that stimulus plan funding will not be significant until the latter part of this year.

The report shows that the value of construction starts for military projects increased 117% this year when compared to January 2009. The value of construction starts for airports was up 176% over a year ago, and for water and sewage projects the value increased 127% during the same period.

Onvia Considered an Au thority by Media, Government

Fringe Benefit Group provides you access to Onvia, a company which monitors government contracting activity, through our subscription to their reports. Onvia CEO Mike Pickett was recently quoted by CNN in a story regarding the effects of the stimulus package on job creation. Pickett is also featured in a story run by Fox Business News regarding the number of jobs created by the ARRA. And GovernmentExecutive.com also quoted Onvia in a story reflecting on the year since passage of the ARRA.

Onvia is an invaluable resource and can help you identify contracts being put up for bid, as well as the companies bidding on these jobs. For more information on how you can use Onvia in your prospecting, contact your RVP.

1. Your User ID to log on to FederalReporting.gov is the email address you provided when you registered.
2. When you register as a user, we’ll send you a temporary password via email.
3. Can’t remember your password? Just click “I forgot my password” in the log-in box to reset your password for self-service password reset.
4. FederalReporting.gov cannot change your Point of Contact information. The FederalReporting.gov Point of Contact and their contact information is directly from the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). If your organization changes its POC information in CCR for the Primary Government Point of Contact or Primary Electronic Business Point of Contact, it will take 48 hours to sync up between CCR and FederalReporting.gov. When FederalReporting.gov receives the change from CCR, we’ll email the FRPIN and temporary password to the POC User.
5. In order to report, you need to have the Federal Reporting Personal Identification Number (FRPIN) for your DUNS Number and your organization must be registered with Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).
6. Much of the data you need to report should be on your award document (such as CFDA number or Gov’t. Contracting Office). Questions regarding missing data should be directed to your awarding agency.
7. The Service Desk operators at FederalReporting.gov do not have access to your award document. We can’t answer some of your reporting policy-related questions. Typically, we need to refer those policy questions to your awarding agency, OMB, or the Recovery Board.
8. Need more help in understanding how to report? Download the User Guide from the Downloads page of FederalReporting.gov to learn more.
9. Check the FAQs page for more frequently asked questions.
10. Need more help? Please have the following information ready before calling the FederalReporting. gov Service Desk:
    • Are you already registered?
      • If yes, what is your User ID (email address)?
      • If yes, are you are POC? Is this email address the one registered with CCR?
      • If no, what problems are you having in registering?
    • Are you an Award Recipient or a Federal Agency?
      • If you’re a Federal Agency User, what Agency are you with?
      • If you’re an Award Recipient, which agency gave you the award?
    • If you’re an Award Recipient, are you a prime or a sub?
    • Having trouble reporting?
      • What problems are you having?
      • Did you receive any type of error message?

The FAQ page at FederalReporting.gov is updated frequently as issues and questions arise. This is another valuable resource for your ARRA clients.

A Wealth of Resources — Just a Click Away

Need a form? Want to check on your commission? You can find much of the information you need on our website.

We’ve worked hard to make our website a convenient, useful resource for our brokers. You can find forms to set up a new plan, fund sheets, and much more online. Here’s where to look

• Go to contractorsplan.com
• At the bottom of the page, you’ll see three boxes. The one on the right is labeled “Producers”. At the bottom of this box, you’ll see “Click Here to Log In.”
• Once you’ve clicked that link, you’ll be taken to the log in page. Enter your user name and password. If you can’t remember your password, call us at 1-800-328-1519 for assistance.
• Once you’ve logged in, you can view commission information, group information, investment returns, and more.

Another place to check for information and forms is the “Sales Tools” section of the website. You can access this section without a log in. Just click on the box labeled “Producers” on our home page. You’ll be taken to another web page which has two boxes at the bottom. Click the “Sales/Marketing Tools” Box, and you’ll be taken to an area of the website where you can download new client paperwork, seminars, newsletters and mail campaigns.

What’s New at Fringe Benefit Group

Em ployers Can Now Add New Em ployees, Update Em ployee Information Online

Adding new employees to The Contractors Plan and updating employee information just got easier! Employers can now make these changes online. New employees can be added before their contributions are submitted. These are the steps for adding a new employee:

To add new employees:

• The contractor logs into their account.
• Select the Transactions tab at the top of the page.
• In the box below “Add/Update EE”, enter the new employee’s social security number and click ”New Employee”.
• Enter the employee’s information on the next screen. Address, date of birth, and date of hire are required to set up the employee’s account.
• Important: The boxes next to “set default” for both VRU and Web access should both be checked.
• Click submit.

To update information for existing employees:

• The contractor logs into their account.
• Select the Transactions tab at the top of the page.
• In the box below “Add/Update EE”, enter the social security number for the employee whose information should be changed. Although this is an existing employee, employers will still click ”New Employee”.
• Click submit.

We’re always looking for ways to save our clients time and money. More features are planned and will be added shortly. If your clients have questions about using the online add/update feature, they can call us at (866) 457-8812.

Alan Joyce Joins SCA Team

Alan comes to Fringe with 8 years of successful experience working with prevailing wage contractors. He is located in Knoxville, TN and will focus on serving the needs of Service Contractors. Alan can be reached at 512-850-8714 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Eddie Hedge Joins SoCal Team

We are pleased to announce the addition of Eddie Hedge to the FBG SoCal team. Eddie has extensive experience working with both Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act clients to provide compliant, workable health insurance solutions. Eddie will be working with John Dean, Southern California RVP.

Trade Show Schedule

AGC Annual Convention
Orlando, FL
Website: http://www.agc.org/cs/annual_convention
March 17-20, 2010

Benefits Selling Expo 2010
Washington, DC
April 19-21, 2010
Come visit us at booth #138

2010 ABC Construction Education Conference
New Orleans, LA
May 5-7, 2010

CFMA Annual Conference
Hawaii
June 26-30, 2010

We sincerely thank you for partnering with us and we appreciate your business. If you have ideas or suggestions for how we can help you be more successful, please let us know.

Sales Results through February 28, 2010

Broker(s)	Agency	Retirement	Major Medical	Total
Sam Melamed, Bob Pratt, Joseph Rossman, Bob Miller, Bill Hudspeth	Merit Choice	11	3	14
Mark Arnold	Arnold Insurance Agency	5	0	5
Kimberley Tobin, John Sedberry	Contractors Prevailing Wage	2	1	3
Allen Long	Seubert & Associates	2	0	2
Bryce Curtis, Memory Woodard	Williams Lloyd, Inc.	2	0	2
Tony Gorman	Contractors Benefit Services, LL C	2	0	2
Barry Quernemoen	Apollo Insuance Agency	1	0	1
Chris Hopper	Crosby Insurance	1	0	1
Chris Tromley	Christine Tromley	0	1	1
Eugene Bain	White & Bain Financial Services	0	1	1
Gary Milton	Benefits Consulting Services	1	0	1
Joe Weber, John Weber	John O. Bronson Co.	1	0	1
John Hall	JF Hall & Associates, Inc.	1	0	1
Kevin Saltzman	Saltzman Financial	1	0	1
Luke Murray	Aspire Benefits	0	1	1
Mike Kelly and Tom Latz	Thomas McGee, L.C.	1	0	1
Richard Asher	R.B. Asher Company	1	0	1
Steve Walsh	The Magellan Agency	1	0	1
Brian Bean	Allient Insurance Services, Inc.	1	0	1
Total		34	7	41