Lisa Shimada, director of human resources, was featured in a Life Series workshop in which she spoke about the importance of saving for retirement at an early age in comparison to those who do not start saving until later in life.
“The workshop is geared to help graduates understand benefits that an employer is maybe offering them so that they understand what’s included outside of just their salary,” Shimada said.
Shimada presented facts and examples in order to stress the importance of good benefits as well as saving for retirement at an early age.
“If one starts saving for retirement as soon as they enter the working world, he or she will have accumulated much more than they would have if they started 10 years later,” Shimada said.
During the presentation, there was emphasis on the fact that social security should not be depended on. Shimada explained why an aspiring employee would want to be sure to receive a 401 (k) or 403 (b) for their retirement plan.
“You get to reduce your taxable income by the amount you set aside for retirement; that’s the draw so you are encouraged to save,” Shimada said.
Shimada made handouts for students that explained, in detail, commonly used health care teams as well as the most common types of health insurance plans.
“I think if students have not had a full-time employment position that offers benefits, I think this is a good transition to learning what employers are doing with regards to pay and compensation that may be attractive to them even though they may not think about it at the time,” Shimada said.
The health benefits talk is one of seven workshops in the Life Series in which students can prepare for life after college. All students of the college are welcome to attend these free workshops.
“I think it is really important to learn about these topics early so I am at least semi-prepared for life after college even though I have awhile to go,” Ali Van Schaack, freshman communication major, said. “To me, health benefits are something that I do not want to worry about later.”
Shimada also mentioned that when students are applying for jobs after undergraduate or graduate school, they get so caught up in the job or in the job offer that they do not necessarily think about health care.
Also present at the workshop was Richie Gebauer, coordinator of co-curricular programming.
“I think knowing about these pieces when you accept a job, you understand it’s not just the salary, but the whole package of health benefits and retirement plans,” Gebauer said. “Knowing these facts makes the candidate think about the whole package rather than just the job itself.”
“Hopefully, the students will understand that there is more than just salary involved,” Shimada said. “Benefits are a really important part of what we call total compensation.”
