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What You'll Get
Like a good heart surgeon, a good IT professional monitors thousands of complex connections, acts fast to prevent crashes, and gets worried when the cables start leaking red stuff. Prepare for the worst with this Groupon.
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The Fine Print
Promotional value expires Jan 8, 2014. Amount paid never expires. Limit 3 per person. Limit 1 per order. Online redemption required. Must activate by expiration date on your Groupon; course access expires 12 months from date of activation. Not valid with other offers. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
About ITU Online
To keep IT professionals ahead in a fast-paced and constantly changing digital world, ITU Online cultivates instructor-led training courses in the latest programs and operating systems. The online school bypasses the pop-culture courses and milk-chugging contests offered by traditional universities to instead focus on material that is relevant to the current job market. Courses cover such subjects as Microsoft Office, Windows, Cisco, Oracle, (ISC)2, EXIN, and ISACA. ITU Online's training helps computer professionals at the top of their game with modules and certifications across a wide range of industries, including social media, marketing, medical billing, and cyber security.


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In a landscape often filled with grim retirement news, Fidelity Investments reported this week that the average balance of the 401(k) accounts it manages has hit a 12-year high.
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But while the increase in balance amounts is one positive development, there are still reasons to doubt that Americans are saving enough for retirement. Several recent studies have suggested that savings rates need to rise sharply before most Americans can expect to comfortably exit the workforce at 65.
Employer contributions rise nearly 20 percent in five years
Fidelity analyzed data from 12 million 401(k) accounts from across more than 20,000 corporate defined contribution plans to determine that not only are account balances on the rise, but both employee and employer contributions have increased as well.
As of the end of the third quarter of 2012, Fidelity 401(k) accounts had an average balance of $75,900. That number is up from $64,300 a year ago and represents the highest account balance recorded by the company since it began tracking these amounts 12 years ago.
While balances may be growing in part to changes in the market, increased employee and employer contributions have also likely helped. Employees now contribute an average of $5,900 annually to their accounts, up 7.3 percent from 2007.
Meanwhile, employers are pitching in almost 20 percent more than they did five years ago. The average annual employer contribution is now $3,420.
But is it enough?
Although the increase in 401(k) contributions is good news, it begs the question of whether it makes much difference to the state of retirement savings. The Fidelity analysis does not indicate the average age of account holders, but a balance of $75,000 is well below what financial advisers typically recommend for people nearing retirement.
With the future solvency of Social Security remaining a question mark, today's younger workers may be well advised to carefully calculate their financial needs for retirement. Unfortunately, for many middle-income workers, saving more appears to either not be a priority or a possibility.
A recent study from LIMRA, a research and consulting firm in the financial services industry, found 65 percent of workers earning between $40,000 and $99,999 annually are saving less than 5 percent of their income for retirement. In addition, 22 percent say they are saving nothing.
"These results, while not surprising, are very troubling," said Matthew Drinkwater, associate managing director of LIMRA's retirement research, in a written statement. "Less than 30 percent of American workers have a traditional defined benefit retirement plan that could help them pay for their expenses in retirement, so the responsibility for providing the financial resources for retirement lies squarely on the individual."
While the Fidelity analysis shows a promising trend in increasing 401(k) balances, the LIMRA study and other similar reports indicate workers may have a long way to go until they can be confident of their ability to retire with financial security.
The original article can be found at Money-Rates.com:Why rising 401(k) balances may not be enough

subset: commoncrawl


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LAS VEGAS — To formalize camaraderie and networking among Curves franchisees and to establish a direct, two-way communication with Curves International, Curves franchisees formed the Curves Franchisee Association Inc. (CurvesFA) in late October. The nonprofit company representing 10,000 Curves franchisees worldwide will initially focus on the 8,000 Curves clubs in the United States and Canada, says Teri Bertrand, executive board member.
CurvesFA was not formed in response to any issue faced by the franchisees, but rather to identify concerns and advocate a stronger and more diverse voice to Curves International, Bertrand says.
"A short three years ago, it was easy to call corporate headquarters to speak to someone and have one's questions answered," she says. "However, with the explosive growth of the Curves franchise system, the previous system of dealing with one franchisee's issues at a time — especially when several franchisees may be facing the same or similar issues — became less effective."
Curves International implemented a new system of oversight with its network of area directors, but establishing the association helped to further facilitate the sharing of ideas between the franchisees and executive board, she says.
At Curves' annual meeting in Las Vegas, the board members elected Melanie Schaengold as the president and presented the CurvesFA officers to the franchisees.