Frame Your Future During Financial Fitness Week
Free seminars and webinars help employees save for retirement

Randy Garcia is 42 and doesn't intend to retire soon. But that didn't stop him from attending three recent credit and investing seminars to plan for 2028, the year he will be eligible to retire from Duke.
Garcia took part in the first wave of Financial Fitness Week seminars that started May 7 at Durham Regional Hospital and will be offered on West Campus beginning May 20.
Read More"Too many people wait until the last minute to plan for retirement," said Garcia, who joined Duke two years ago as assistant director of alumni giving for the Duke Annual Fund. "I want to have enough time to maximize my investments."
Financial Fitness Week, which is organized by Duke's Human Resources, will include "Cyber Monday" webinars on retirement savings and estate planning May 20 and information tables and in-person financial planning seminars May 22 at the Searle Center.
Sylvester Hackney, associate director of benefits at Duke, said the event helps raise awareness of the importance of financial planning for retirement.
According to a March 2013 survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, only 46 percent of U.S. employees have tried to calculate how much money they need to save to live comfortably in retirement.
"Taking 30 minutes out of a busy schedule now to look at your finances can make a huge difference in the future in terms of retirement security," Hackney said. "Planning ahead is crucial for a comfortable retirement."
Staff and faculty can watch the Cyber Monday webinars on May 20 from any computer and ask questions via chat or email. Employees must register to obtain login information.
Topics include:
- Consider a Target Retirement Fund (11 a.m. to noon)
- Retirement Income Planning: Distribution Planning for Today's Retirement (noon to 1 p.m.)
- Estate Planning (1 p.m. to 2 p.m.)
- Getting on the Right Path with your Workplace Savings (2 p.m. to 3 p.m.)
The in-person seminars on May 22 cover topics such as targeted retirement funds, social security, building a credit history and retirement plans at Duke. The schedule and descriptions of workshops are available online.
Hackney encourages staff and faculty to review the personalized benefits statement mailed home this month to assess retirement planning needs. The personalized benefits statement includes a projection of retirement income based on an employee's current salary, retirement savings contributions and benefit package.
"If you don't like what you see, Financial Fitness Week is a great time to gather information about making changes," Hackney said. "We know how easy it is for people to put it aside for later, but we hope the resources of Financial Fitness Week will inspire people to take just a few minutes to plan for the future."