Washington, D.C. – Participants in the 2006 OPM Federal Workforce Conference will have the opportunity to attend The Power of Benefits Forum, a blend of plenary sessions that focus on cross-cutting benefits issues, followed by breakout sessions that focus on specific benefit issues. The forum also fulfills annual training requirements for federal agency benefits officers.

"Attending the Power of Benefits Forum will give attendees applicable skills to do their jobs today and an understanding of what they will need to do their jobs in the future," said Michael Beckmann, acting deputy associate director of OPM's Center for Leadership Capacity Services. "The newly expanded format of blended sessions followed by detailed breakout sessions is a result of input from past participants to enhance the Human Resources Workforce Conference."

The Power of Benefits plenary sessions are:

• Strategic benefits issues: Where are we? Where are we going? How will we know when we get there?
• Getting to a green retirement-retirement financial education initiatives: Why are employees' retirement goals important to you and how can you help employees meet these goals?
• Thrift Savings Plan: What do I tell employees about making "open season" elections and what is the L Fund?

The Power of Benefits breakout sessions are:

• Retirement readiness goals
• Retirement programs issues and insights
• Inside insurance benefits
• Balancing health, family, and work
• Dealing with employees

The 2006 Federal Workforce Conference, Transformation for Results, will be held February 27 - March 2, 2006, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The annual event will feature four days of sessions and seminars focused on the major issues and initiatives facing federal managers responsible for any aspect of human capital management. For additional information, visit http://apps.opm.gov/conference/.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.

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