LONDON — Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, is holding its annual Defined Contribution (DC) forum at its More London offices on 14 April at 4.00pm. Hewitt's DC team, together with guest speaker, James Woudhuysen, Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montfort University will lead a series of discussions on key topics. These will include tackling the perennial challenge for all DC plans – the need to build member understanding and ownership of personal outcomes versus the need to provide adequately for the majority who still accept the default option.

Antony Hayes, DC Consulting head at Hewitt in the UK, said:

"At our DC Forum we will be combining research findings with the real-life experience we are seeing with our clients, to get a better understanding of the complex dynamics organisations need to get right in order to achieve the correct balance in this major area of benefits expenditure."

The forum will include a series of discussion topics, including:

• Making DC work – how to optimise the balance between employee engagement and default strategies
• Trends in employee engagement and interaction – James Woudhuysen (http:www.woudhuysen.com/index.php)
• Results of recent Hewitt DC and communication research
• "Default Option" – doesn't have to mean "one-dimensional"
• Shall we retire?  Helping members through the final approach
• Update on complementary and alternative benefits to DC pensions

To attend the Hewitt DC forum, contact John Foster, DC consultant at Hewitt at john.foster@hewitt.com

About Hewitt Associates
Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) provides leading organisations around the world with expert human resources consulting and outsourcing solutions to help them anticipate and solve their most complex benefits, talent, and related financial challenges. Hewitt works with companies to design, implement, communicate, and administer a wide range of human resources, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation, and talent management strategies. With a history of exceptional client service since 1940, Hewitt has offices in more than 33 countries and employs approximately 23,000 associates who are helping make the world a better place to work. For more information, please visitwww.hewitt.com.