I love innovation and learning about clever new ideas -- especially ones that will enhance my life or the lives of others. Some leave me a little cold, though. Boeing
More exciting to me is a concept being kicked around by IBM
Win-win
If it comes to pass, the beauty of the new proposition is that it appears to be a win-win solution. Employees who excel receive more company contributions, which will leave them with a heftier nest egg, come retirement. Employers will be paying out more, but only for exceptional performance, which should also be benefiting the company.
The idea isn't entirely revolutionary, though. It's kind of a variation on simple profit-sharing plans, where employees are typically rewarded in relation to company or individual performance. Some companies with profit-sharing plans include Walgreen
Personally, I think the most exciting recent development in the world of 401(k)s is auto-enrollment, a growing trend where companies sign new employees up for 401(k) accounts by default. This combats our human tendency to procrastinate and is resulting in many more people saving for retirement -- perhaps sometimes without even realizing it!
With so many workers seeing their retirement on the ropes, I hope that innovations like these continue to develop. Otherwise, we'll be forced to resort to cost-cutting measures like flying strapped to poles in our golden years.
For more retirement Foolishness: