GENERAL SESSION 1
Lighten Up! A Humorous Look at Customer Service in the World of Employee Benefits
Ross Shafer is a Six-Time Emmy Award-winning comedian and writer. A leader for change in the corporate marketplace, Ross has written and produced 14 Human Resource Training Films on Customer Service, Sales, and Motivation. In this session Ross will provide humorous insight on how great organizations continue to grow in a lightening-paced E-Global economy and provide examples proving that “customer service” as we know it is dead…………and how we can resurrect it!

GENERAL SESSION 2
Aftermath: What the 2008 Election Could Mean for your Benefit Programs
Health care looms large in the minds of the electorate, and health care in retirement perhaps even larger. Meanwhile, perhaps due to sheer economic necessity, the notion of retirement - and retirement savings - is being swept aside. Employer-sponsored programs have long been an essential part of America's retirement - but could the upcoming election change all that?

BREAKOUT SESSION 1: Health
The Next Phase of Health Benefits: Consumer Owned Health
Recently, there has been a great deal of press focused on healthcare costs outpacing inflation and worker earnings. Employers and other plan sponsors are interested in new solutions to define their healthcare costs. Unfortunately, without the ability to motivate and engage employees in their own health, employers who offer consumer directed health plans are merely shifting costs to consumers.

BREAKOUT SESSION 1: Retirement
Risky Business: Class Action Lawsuits by Retirement Plan Participants
Class action lawsuits against plan sponsors are in the rise. What can plan sponsors do to protect themselves? In this session, Nancy G. Ross, a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will and Emery LLP, will discuss some of the class action lawsuits filed against plan sponsors today, what is being alleged, and how plan sponsors can protect themselves.

Moderator: Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER magazines and PLANSPONSOR.com
Speaker: Nancy Ross, Partner, McDermott Will and Emery LLP

THURSDAY LUNCHEON SESSION
Best in Class Benefits Solutions Award Ceremony
SouthWest Benefits Association will announce the winners of its third Best in Class Benefits Solutions Award during Thursday's luncheon. The purpose of the award is to acknowledge and reward SWBA members for their efforts to solve retirement and health benefits challenges. Award winners will be selected for their retirement and health benefits challenges that reflect innovation, sustainability and measurable impact. Information on award submissions is available at www.swba.org.

BREAKOUT SESSION 2: Health
An Employer’s Unique Approach to Improving Health and Productivity Through Innovative Onsite and Engagement Programs
Like many other employers’ SCANA, a Southern based energy and natural gas provider with 15,000 employee’s faced tremendous healthcare challenges, including:

BREAKOUT SESSION 2: Retirement
Executive Compensation Update: What's the Real Impact of 409(A) on the Future of Executive Benefit Plans?
Since the collapse of Enron and other corporate scandals earlier this decade, Washington, DC policymakers have been giving intense scrutiny to executive and deferred compensation issues. This scrutiny has led to the enactment of Code section 409A containing lengthy and complex final regulations, as well as comprehensive new SEC rules on the disclosure of executive compensation. Now, with budget deficits increasing and Congress scrambling for revenue offsets under reinstated "paygo" principles, far-reaching new legislative proposals are being considered by Congress.

GENERAL SESSION 3
From C-Suite to Swing Shift: Communicating Value Through Employee Benefits
MGM MIRAGE is widely known as one of the world's leading entertainment companies. They are also known for industry-leading diversity initiatives, community philanthropy programs and their highly successful engagement of a broad range of employees. Securing C-Suite support and investment for innovative benefit programs isn't easy. Engaging middle management and other employees gets even harder. At MGM Mirage ?value? for benefits investments, not just ROI, is a strong selling point.

DINNER AND LIVE MUSIC AT STUBB'S BBQ
(Included in your Registration Fee)
Sponsored by: Buck Consultants & Humana, Inc.

GENERAL SESSION 4
Confronting a Changing Workforce: Keys to Retaining Critical Talent and Improving Knowledge Transfer
As Baby Boomers approach retirement and the talent wars escalate dealing with a changing workforce is a huge challenge for employers. To ensure that critical skills and knowledge are not lost due to increased Boomer retirements and more mid-career turnover than ever, companies will need to recruit and retain productive workers of all ages who can transfer their knowledge to younger employees. The MetLife Mature Market Institute, in collaboration with David DeLong and Associates, has released a new study, "Searching for the Silver Bullet: Leading Edge Solutions for Leveraging an Aging Workforce", which features in-depth case studies and solutions from companies that have successfully implemented programs to address the staffing challenges posed by changing workforce demographics. Drs. DeLong and Migliaccio will outline what works and what doesn't when trying to improve the retention of critical talent and their knowledge.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3: Health
2008: A Year of Healthcare Legislation and its Impact on Your Business
2008 promises to be one of great change. Not only do we have a presidential election where health care is consistently rated among the top three areas of concern, but Congress as well is proposing many new concepts that could greatly impact employers and health plans. This is in addition to the many state initiatives underway.

BREAKOUT SESSION 3: Retirement
The New Retirementality
Waves of Baby Boomers are approaching their retirement years quickly, with 12,000 turning 50 each day. Boomers also have very different ideas about what retirement means. They want to retire at their own pace and on their own terms. Yet they must contend with employers and a financial system that cling to the traditional notion of retirement. Through interactive exercises, Lisa Kueng and Adam Berk help plan sponsors and service providers understand what today's (and tomorrow's) retirees are thinking and learn how to talk differently to participants about retirement. They will also discuss how the regulatory environment has changed (and must continue) to adapt to the needs of today's workers. The goal is to help attendees think about retirement in new ways and learn how to adopt to the changing needs of an aging workforce.

BREAKOUT SESSION 4: Health
An Inspirational Story of Surviving Cancer and a Unique Perspective on the Business Community's Role in Treating Cancer
How should cancer be treated inside the benefits and health insurance world?

BREAKOUT SESSION 4: Retirement
Practices that Define a Standard of Excellence for Investment Committees
In a time when the investment issues surrounding retirement benefits are in the public limelight it is becoming more and more important for Investment Committees to understand their duties and responsibilities. In this session Don Trone, President of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies, will explore the fiduciary responsibility of the Investment Committee and the best practices that a committee should be considering.