Employees Value Voluntary Benefits, but Few Employers Measure Program Success

CHICAGO, While workplace differences
abound between Baby Boom and Generation X employees, there are at least two
similarities, according to Aon Consulting, a leading global human capital
consulting firm."
Companies surveyed indicate that disability coverage (37 percent ) and life
insurance (19 percent) are the most popular voluntary benefits among all
employees as well. Hergt explained, "because it is likely
that many people will sign the release ignorant of the facts, and will not
explore their legal rights.
Poole filed a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA ) lawsuit against the city. Jeff is a dedicated EMS worker who has responded to
thousands of calls for the city and its citizens.S.

successfully ageism

"Obviously, there are generation-neutral issues, which are represented in
the popularity of disability coverage and life insurance," said Garry Sullivan,
senior vice president with Aon Consulting. Similarly, many Generation Xers are buying their
first homes, making homeowners insurance a popular voluntary benefit choice
for this group.
-- More than three -quarters (77 percent) of surveyed employers offer
voluntary benefits. Aon Consulting delivers integrated consulting solutions
to help clients with employee benefits, human resources outsourcing ,
compensation, communication and management consulting.

Charges Filed Against Ford Waivers Announces Huizenga + Hergt P.C.

If the company fails to do so, it runs the risk that employees who sign
the agreement may retain the money they received and file a lawsuit in Federal
Court for age discrimination under the Federal Act. The
members of Local 4430 are employed in the Rescue Division of the Plantation
Fire Department as full-time employees performing solely emergency medical
services as EMTs, paramedics and lieutenants.

allstate meaningful

DETROIT, Charges have been filed with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission in Detroit against the Ford Motor Company by
the law firm of Huizenga + Hergt.

dealt terminated

Under Ford 's restructuring plan, employees are offered up to nine months
of additional severance pay if they agree to release their claims against the
company.
This is an important issue, Mr. Plantation Fire Department Employee Fired Just Days Before Christmas

PLANTATION, Fla.

caade exploited

"However, the fact that long-term care insurance
and retiree medical/Medicare supplemental insurance are the top benefits
employees are asking for suggests that Baby Boomers are providing the greatest
input on the topic. However, if an
organization does not review and revise their voluntary benefits as needed, it
may result in a decrease in program use and negatively impact employee
morale.247 billion and 7,000 professionals in 120 offices
throughout the world.

This press release contains certain statements related to future results,
or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the
future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in
Washington, DC, represents more than 270,000 full-time professional fire
fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of the nation's population.iaff.org.

hired combating

Specifically , 45 percent of those surveyed say Baby Boomers purchase
disability coverage, while 37 percent say Generation X workers do the same. Forty-
three percent of these companies have 500 or fewer employees , 23 percent have
between 500 and 2,000 workers, 24 percent have a workforce of 2,000 to 10,000
and 10 percent have more than 10,000 employees. Backed by
broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals
help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce
productivity solutions.
There is still time for Ford to comply with the law and expand the
information contained in the lists given to terminated workers, Mr.

discrimination learned

Meanwhile, 27 percent say they plan to add only one voluntary benefit
during that time.

About Aon
Aon Corporation ( http://www. Consequently, under the FLSA, these
members should be paid FLSA overtime compensation after 40 hours in a 48-hour
work week.

successfully exploited

Limiting the information in
such a way, "does not comply with at least two Federal Court decisions that
have held that a company must provide a listing of all persons selected," Mr."
The IAFF has authorized its legal counsel, Woodley + McGillivary, to
represent Poole and other employees and union members in a pending FLSA suit,
as well as other court action as a result of retaliatory conduct by the city
and its representatives.

dealt successfully

These forward-looking
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated
results depending on a variety of factors. Further information concerning the Company and its
business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the
Company's financial results, is contained in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
What this city has done is illegal.

meaningful acquire

(Logo: http://www. employers.
"The city is trying to cheat these emergency workers out of pay they've earned
by working and protecting its citizens," says IAFF General President Harold
Schaitberger.

valued learned

typecast confronts

"

Employees Value Voluntary Benefits, but Employers Fail to Measure Success
The Aon Consulting study also found that companies offer voluntary
benefits as a tool to attract and retain employees (29 percent), in response
to employee requests (28 percent) and to help employees with work/life balance
(25 percent).com .
John Hergt, a partner in the law firm, explained that what Ford has done
is to limit the information provided to employees so that they are unable to
determine whether or not there is a pattern of selecting older workers for
separation. Therefore , because they are not
cross-trained and have no authority or responsibility regarding fire fighting
activities, these members are considered "general employees" with no special
risk consideration or compensation.

nytimes successfully

Huizenga has
previously obtained a landmark ruling in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed by the United States Supreme Court finding that releases given to
employees by the Ameritech Corporation were invalid., Jeffrey Poole, an EMS worker
with the Plantation, Florida Fire Department for 10 years and president of the
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4430, has been wrongfully
terminated from his job just days before Christmas for leading a fight to make
sure the city's EMS workers get paid for the hours they work.
Poole, who organized Local 4430 earlier this year, withdrew a petition for
representation after union members expressed fear of losing their jobs because
of the City of Plantation's intimidation campaign.

appears upswing

newscom.com ) is a leading provider of risk
management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and
management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. In some cases, Mr. Mr.C.

City of Plantation Wrongfully Terminates EMS Worker for Fighting for Rights to Overtime Pay

More than 2,900 affiliates protect nearly 6,000 communities in Canada and in
every state in the U.

learned combating

However, the similarities end there , as
companies rank long-term care insurance as the third most popular voluntary
benefit for Baby Boomers (11 percent), while individual home/auto/liability
insurance is third among Generation X workers (14 percent).S. Hergt states that the individual is provided a
listing which lists only one person selected for separation, despite the fact
that thousands of employees have been terminated .

successfully lawsuits

Long-term care insurance (26 percent) and retiree
medical/Medicare supplemental insurance (19 percent ) are the top two voluntary
benefits that employees are requesting, but currently are not offered by many
employers.

Results from the Aon Consulting study, titled "What's Hot and What 's Not
in Voluntary Benefits," are based on responses from 83 U.
Hergt said. We will use the full
resources of this union to get Poole's job back. The petition would have
formalized the union as the certified bargaining representative for Plantation
Fire Department employees.

percent learned

"

John Hergt of Huizenga + Hergt P.

confronts valued

"These programs can be very beneficial to employees
and help serve as a point of differentiation for employers."

Additional Data Points
This survey also revealed the following.
Aon Consulting is among the top global human resources consulting firms,
with 2004 revenues of $1. Potential factors that could impact
results include: general economic conditions in different countries in which
we do business around the world, changes in global equity and fixed income
markets that could affect the return on invested assets, fluctuations in
exchange and interest rates that could influence revenue and expense, rating
agency actions that could affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our
various pension plans, changes in the competitive environment, our ability to
implement restructuring initiatives and other initiatives intended to yield
cost savings, our ability to implement the stock repurchase program, changes
in commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium rates that
could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings due to the elimination
of contingent commissions, other uncertainties surrounding a new compensation
model, the impact of investigations brought by state attorneys general, state
insurance regulators, federal prosecutors, and federal regulators, the impact
of class actions and individual lawsuits including client class actions,
securities class actions, derivative actions , and ERISA class actions, the
cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies , and
the difference in ultimate paid claims in our underwriting companies from
actuarial estimates .
"The City of Plantation is the Grinch who stole Jeffrey Poole's family
Christmas," says Schaitberger .

combating summarizing

com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO )
Aon Consulting surveyed employers nationwide and found that Baby Boomers
(ages 45-60) and Generation Xers (ages 25-40) both purchase disability
coverage more than any other employer-offered voluntary benefit*. The charges request a finding from the
agency declaring that the company has not complied with Federal law in seeking
a release of liability from 4,000 employees selected for termination as part
of Ford's restructuring plan. Huizenga
said.

In addition, the City of Plantation subjected Poole and other Local 4430
leaders to a campaign of employer retaliation and discrimination in violation
of their legal and constitutional rights and targeted Poole with criminal
charges for forming a labor union.
Local 4430 is also suing the City of Plantation in federal court for
failing to comply with its overtime pay obligations under the FLSA. More information is available at http://www.

caade terminated

In addition, life insurance (individual whole life, universal life and
variable life) ranks second for both groups (23 percent for Baby Boomers and
24 percent for Generation Xers). What's more, 80 percent of workers perceive voluntary benefits
to be extremely valuable or valuable. However, 67 percent of companies do not
measure success of these programs, or do so only as needed.

For more information, contact:
Joe Micucci, Aon Consulting, 312-381-4786, joe_micucci@aon.
(313) 963-4200
(248) 561-7435 (cell)

unfairly combating

-- Nearly 50 percent of companies surveyed say they will not add any
voluntary benefits to their offerings during the next three years.
-- More companies offer pet insurance (4 percent) than identity theft
"insurance" (3 percent). "The city has no basis for terminating Poole.

unfairly terminated

"It makes sense that disability coverage and life insurance are the two
most popular voluntary benefits overall, since that is consistent with Baby
Boomers and Generation Xers, the two groups that make up the majority of the
workplace," said Sullivan.aon. There are 47 ,000
employees working in Aon's 500 offices in more than 120 countries.

caade percent

* Voluntary benefits - benefits (other than supplemental group term life
insurance) that are fully paid by employees through payroll deductions. The charge filed with the EEOC, however, alleges that the company
did not comply with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, because the
affected employees were not provided a listing by age and job title of each
person who was selected for separation.

upswing acquire

summarizing percent

Baby Boomer and Generation X Workers Agree When it Comes to Voluntary Benefits Says Aon Consulting

"At the same time, an increasing
number of Baby Boomers have begun caring for their parents, which has prompted
many of these workers to purchase long-term care insurance as a voluntary
benefit for themselves.
"Employers should measure success of their voluntary benefits programs
every 12 to 24 months to ensure employees are getting the most out of the
plans," said Sullivan. It should not be using tax payer money to
engage in illegal acts.