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401(k) plans can be a powerful tool in promoting financial security in retirement. They are a valuable option for businesses considering a retirement plan, providing benefits to employees and their employers.

Employers start a 401(k) plan for many reasons:

This publication highlights some of a 401(k) plans advantages, some of your options and responsibilities as an employer operating a 401(k) plan, and the differences among the types of 401(k) plans. For more information, a list of resources for you and for 401(k) plan participants is included at the end of this booklet.

When you establish a 401(k) plan, you must take certain basic actions. One of your first decisions will be whether to set up the plan yourself or to consult a professional or financial institutionsuch as a bank, mutual fund provider, or insurance companyto help with establishing and maintaining the plan. In addition, there are four initial steps for setting up a 401(k) plan:

Adopt a written plan documentPlans begin with a written document that serves as the foundation for day-to-day plan operations. If you have hired someone to help with your plan, that person likely will provide the document. If not, consider obtaining assistance from a financial institution or retirement plan professional. In either case, you will be bound by the terms of the plan document.

Once you have decided on a 401(k) plan, you will need to choose the type of 401(k) plan that is best for youa traditional 401(k) plan, a safe harbor 401(k) plan, or an automatic enrollment 401(k) plan. In all of these plans, participants can make contributions through salary deductions.

A traditional 401(k) plan offers the maximum flexibility among the three types of plans. Employers have discretion over whether to make contributions for all participants, to match employees deferrals, to do both, or to do neither. These contributions can be subject to a vesting schedule (which provides that an employees right to employer contributions becomes nonforfeitable only after a period of time). Annual testing ensures that benefits for rank-and-file employees are proportional to benefits for owners/managers.

There are several kinds of 401(k) plans that aren't subject to the annual contributions testing required with traditional 401(k) plans. These are known as safe harbor 401(k) plans and, in exchange for avoiding the annual testing, employees in these plans must receive a certain level of employer contributions. Under the most popular safe harbor 401(k) plan (discussed in this publication), mandatory employer contributions must be fully vested when made.

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401(k) Plans For Small Businesses - U.S. Department of Labor

HOPEDALE An emergency department nurse who has worked at Hopedale Hospital for 21 years, Leah Warrick showed off an emergency department procedure room one of three larger replacement rooms with new equipment.

"It's private," Warrick said of each suite. "In the old ER, patients would share a room.

"It's easily accessible, we have a new heated ambulance bay, we have more space and it's going to be more efficient for the staff," Warrick said during a tour Friday.

The replacement emergency department is part of an $8.5 million renovation and expansion project to the hospital, which is the heart of Hopedale Medical Complex in this Tazewell County town of 850 people.

The medical complex has 330 full- and part-time employees and three will be added when the addition and renovation is complete, said Chief Operating Officer Mark Rossi.

The project is a 10,000-square-foot addition and 20,000-square-foot renovation to the hospital, which opened in 1955.

"The old building was pretty outdated," Warrick said. "But this is top-of-the-line equipment.

"We're a tiny hospital. This is pretty swanky for us," she said with a smile.

"It has an ultra-modern feel," Rossi said. "With all the natural light, people (employees) just feel better walking into the building."

Opening Friday afternoon were the replacement emergency department with three patient suites, nurses' station and on-call doctor's overnight room; five larger private inpatient rooms; six outpatient surgery suites; an outpatient surgery entrance and lobby; a main hospital lobby with an adjoining patient conference room; and a replacement helipad.

The rest is here:
Hospital opens expanded, renovated areas

$384,900 - 13594 ARCADIAN DRIVE, LEESBURG, VA 20176
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By: PenFed Realty

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$384,900 - 13594 ARCADIAN DRIVE, LEESBURG, VA 20176 - Video

The door locks and you discover youre in a 1940s private detectives office, trapped in a film noir-esque Hollywood mystery that you must solve and then find your way out of the room within the hour. Is this the Twilight Zone? No, its Escape Room L.A., a new interactive adventure.

I got the idea for it in the spring of last year because I read a story about one of these escape-from-a-room events that was in Budapest, Hungary, and I thought it sounded like the coolest thing and I wanted to go try it out, said John Hennessy, director of Race/LA.

Race/LA is the company that produces CityRace, urban adventure hunts at 20 locations throughout Southern California, and RaceLA, an event inspired by CBS The Amazing Race thats held annually in the L.A. area.

Hennessy thought an escape-from-a-room experience would be a perfect addition to Race/LAs offerings, plus it would be different in that it would be held indoors and the participants would have to work together as a team.

Launched in December, Escape Room L.A. is an interactive mystery game in which 12 people are locked in a room (in this case, it is a 1940s private detectives office) and have an hour to follow clues and solve puzzles to find their way out. If you are unable to complete the puzzles, you will be released at the end of the hour, although you wont have the pride of accomplishment.

The game isnt scary but because of its difficulty it is recommended for ages 14 and up.

There are documents you need to read. Weve had a few families bring younger kids, 8- and 10-year-old kids, who seemed like they enjoyed it, but Im not sure how much of it they really get, Hennessy said.

Also be aware that unless youre in a group of 12 people, you should be prepared to play the game with people you dont know.

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Escape Room L.A. offers a 1940s mystery noir adventure

Charlotte, N.C. (PRWEB) January 28, 2015

Exit Strategy, an escape-the-room attraction that requires groups to uncover hidden clues and solve puzzles to escape a locked room, is moving to a new, bigger location and adding up to four more puzzle rooms to its existing two. After opening its doors at the end of August 2014, the business has grown and demand for more rooms is high. In addition to the current 70s and Cabin in the Woods-themed rooms, Exit Strategy will add a Lost in Space and Murder Mystery room, with space for two more.

The appetite for these types of mentally-challenging, hands-on escape-the-room games is incredible, says owner Mylene Labrie. When we first created the 70s room in our house to test the concept on friends and family, we had no idea it would grow into this. Room escape games have long been popular in Asia and Europe, and are making their way into major U.S. cities like New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and now Charlotte. In fact, Exit Strategy is ranked the number two activity in Charlotte on TripAdvisor, with sights set on number one.

Based on the popular escape-the-room computer games, brick and mortar puzzle rooms bring the experience to an entirely different, challenging level. Locked in a room for sixty minutes, participants must work in groups with friends, family and sometimes strangers, to solve a series of puzzles, unlock clues and keenly call upon various senses and thought processes to discover the final key to escape before time runs out.

I was a bit hesitant when Mylene and Jelani invited me and a few friends over to try out the room in their house, says Karlie Winchell, Exit Strategy employee and family friend. But, it was one of the most thought-provoking, intense sixty minutes of my life, and a lot of fun.

We knew within the first month that our current space wasnt enough, says owner Jelani Patterson. People come from all over to try out our rooms we are up to 34 countries now and we need to be able to offer a variety. The new space, located at the opposite end of the same business park, is 5,088 square feet and will feature a 250-square-foot waiting room with brain-teasing puzzles, foosball and a collection of quirky props for group pictures.

When people come here, we want them engaged from the moment they enter through the door, until well after they leave, says Mylene. The rooms are challenging, but our number one priority is to make sure people have fun. If we can do that, then we have far exceeded our expectations.

Exit Strategy will run business as usual and slowly begin transitioning into the new space over the next three weeks. The company plans to post regular updates on its Facebook page, so the public can stay abreast of the progress, and plan for future visits.

For additional information, about the concept, gift certificates or room bookings, visit Exit Strategys website and check out TripAdvisor to see what brave visitors have to say.

About Exit Strategy Originally started in the couples house, Exit Strategy was founded by Mylene Labrie and Jelani Patterson, in August 2014. The escape-the-room-style company offers visitors a unique experience to test mental dexterity, creative problem solving and collaborative thinking to unravel puzzles and unlock clues within sixty minutes. Do you have what it takes to escape the room as the seconds tick by?

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Escape the Room Company Expands in Charlotte; Exit Strategy Adds Four More Rooms in Bigger Space

Furnishing a room to be both functional and pleasing to the eye can take a lot of time and effort. Austrian architect firm Heri & Salli has eschewed such a laborious approach in favor of using just a single piece of furniture. Its Viennese Guest Bed offers much of the functionality required in a guest room.

There are a number of ways of using the space in a room efficiently. The All I Own House by PKMN Architectures and Kitoko Studio's Paris maid's room, for example, employ sliding units that allow users to reconfigure the spaces as required. The Viennese Guest Bed is more like the central piece of furniture in Yuichi Yoshida & Associates' Tsukiji Room H, though, providing a variety of functions without the need to reconfigure the room.

Primarily, of course, the bed provides somewhere to sleep, but it is built from planks of larch wood that extend beyond the bed-space itself to create additional sections. The result is a bed set into a surrounding structure of raised and lowered levels that's at once both practical and aesthetically compelling.

In addition to sleeping, the Viennese Guest Bed provides spaces for sitting, working, storing clothes and placing objects or ornaments. Storage units are contained within the structure, helping to achieve the efficient use of space. The structure itself is created by laying four different lengths of timber upon each other to create the required formation.

The Viennese Guest Bed was part of Heri & Salli's Viennese Guest Room Project that also included the design of a bathroom in the same style. The project was started in September 2014 and was completed earlier this month.

Source: Heri & Salli

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Viennese Guest Bed gives multitasking a whirl

RALEIGH, N.C. - Parents of Brier Creek Elementary School students, concerned about a planned new elementary school, filled the school's lunch room and served up plenty of questions for school system staff Wednesday night.

Brier Creek is overcrowded by more than 100 students, a Wake County Schools spokeswoman said. Plans call for opening up a larger elementary school in 2016, to be located about 2.5 miles away off Page Road near I-540. So far, there's no name, no ground broken and still no decision as to whether it will replace Brier Creek as the area's year-round option, or operate on a traditional calendar.

Parents largely told school staff they liked Brier Creek's year-round calendar and wanted to keep it that way, but staff has recommended the school board designate the new building as the year-round choice and move Brier Creek to a traditional calendar, since it has a smaller capacity.

"We got a lot of information, but there are no guarantees and that was basically what was said. There will be changes. You may be impacted. You may not be," Brier Creek parent Clarence Clayton said.

"I think it's pretty clear that the parents here really love being at this school. They want to keep it a year-round option," Brier Creek parent Barbara Martin said.

Some parents said they were confused, given that many decisions have yet to be made. Adding to that confusion, parents were told Brier Creek students will be grandfathered in, though not to any specific building, but rather to whichever school becomes the year-round option.

"There are no guarantees, so she's grandfathered into a school and we don't know what she's grandfathered into," Brier Creek parent Monique Harris said. "She could be grandfathered into something that I'm not even interested in."

School leaders said plans will become clearer as the process moves along.

"In the end, they will be able to see all along the process that we value their input, that we're asking for it so that we can make the best decision possible," Cathy Moore with Wake County Schools said.

Moore said staff will take Wednesday night's comments and relay them to the school board's facilities committee, which meets in February. There's still time for parents to express their opinion online.

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Brier Creek Elem. parents sound off on planned new school

5696466

This floor plan consists of two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, as well as a spacious, fully equipped, kitchen with a breakfast bar, a laundry room with a washer/dryer, in addition to the utilities listed above. (TV included). You can choose to loft, bunk, or de-loft your bed. Here is the link to the website if you want to learn more: http://www.clemsoncampusview.com/floor-plans/

Air Conditioning Cable Ready Ceiling Fan Hardwood Floors Broadband Internet Walk-in Closets

Laundry Room Controlled Access Attached Garage Assigned Parking Dishwasher Garbage Disposal

Microwave Refrigerator Washer/Dryer Inside Unit Fitness Center Pool Elevator

View Larger Map Address approximated

Bedrooms 2 BR

Posted Date 01/23/2015

Listing ID 5696466

University Ridge is located across from Bowman. This apartment comes complete with washer and...

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Summer Subleaser Needed @ Campus View (across from Bowman)

The hospitality sector has had it bad for a while. But the worst may be over soon. Check in for the details

The hospitality industry in India has had it rather inhospitable for quite some time now from 2009 to be precise, when the go-go days in the Indian hotel industry gave way to a painful down-cycle. Since then, hotel occupancy levels in the country have dipped, average room rates (ARR) have fallen and the revenue per available room (RevPAR) has slipped badly.

Big squeeze

Blame this on the pincer the sector has been caught in. On the one hand, there is an oversupply of rooms with the massive expansion of the boom years coming to fruition.

On the other hand, demand growth has been less than expected due to weak economic conditions. Data from hospitality consultancy HVS shows that between 2009 and 2014, the number of branded rooms in the country grew at an annual average of above 17 per cent to cross the 1,00,000 mark.

Demand picked up after a disastrous 2009 when the global economic crisis and the Mumbai terror attacks took a heavy toll. But the growth has lagged supply, which already had a head-start. This meant a decline in room occupancy levels to about 57 per cent in 2014, a far cry from the nearly 70 per cent levels between 2005 and 2008.

In a highly competitive and fragmented market with numerous players, worried hoteliers have been resorting to discounting rates to draw in the tourists and businesspersons. This resulted in ARR (total room revenue divided by rooms occupied) declining nearly 6 per cent annually between 2009 and 2014.

Consequently, the RevPAR (total room revenue divided by room inventory), a key performance indicator in the segment, dropped nearly 7 per cent on an annual basis over this period.

The pain in the sector is reflected in the financials of several listed hotel companies. The Tata Group-controlled Indian Hotels, the countrys largest hotel chain, has seen its losses widen over the past few years.

The troubles have been worse for players which borrowed heavily to fund expansion, the luxury hotel chain Hotel Leelaventure being a case in point. Another biggie, EIH, which runs the Oberoi and Trident chains, has managed to stay in the black, but its operating profit has been under pressure for the past few years. Similar is the case in the hotel business of ITC.

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Room for hope

5696466

This floor plan consists of two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, as well as a spacious, fully equipped, kitchen with a breakfast bar, a laundry room with a washer/dryer, in addition to the utilities listed above. (TV included). You can choose to loft, bunk, or de-loft your bed. Here is the link to the website if you want to learn more: http://www.clemsoncampusview.com/floor-plans/

Air Conditioning Cable Ready Ceiling Fan Hardwood Floors Broadband Internet Walk-in Closets

Laundry Room Controlled Access Attached Garage Assigned Parking Dishwasher Garbage Disposal

Microwave Refrigerator Washer/Dryer Inside Unit Fitness Center Pool Elevator

View Larger Map Address approximated

Bedrooms 2 BR

Posted Date 01/23/2015

Listing ID 5696466

Looking for a summer subleaser for 1 room of a fully furnished three bedroom town home in Aspen...

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Campus View (across from Bowman)