FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 30 1997

CONTACT: Sharon J. Wells (202) 606-1800 sjwells@opm.gov

Washington, D.C.--Janice Lachance, Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, announced today the release of an exciting new CD-ROM called Benefits Center.

Benefits Center is a virtual, interactive CD-ROM that provides easy to understand, accurate information about benefits for employees who are in career transition, as well as those who simply want information about their benefits.

We are all familiar with the experience of visiting a large shopping mall, and OPM made Benefits Center a virtual shopping center experience, Lachance said. This product makes calculating individual benefits clear and easy, speeding service to users and saving agencies both time and money.

Benefits Center was developed to help agencies cope with increased workloads. It can help an agency maximize efficiency by providing a tool which employees can use quickly and easily to obtain clear, concise answers to many questions. By helping to answer many questions, the program makes better use of the time counselors spend with employees, making counseling resources go further.

Benefits Center allows employees to go directly to information specific to their situation. As a result, the options become clearer and when they do speak with a counselor, they know what questions to ask.

Benefits Center is ideal for Career Transition Centers, agency facilities without benefits specialists, and any site where agencies are trying to maximize the use of resources. The program was developed by the Office of Personnel Management's Retirement and Insurance Service.

Benefits Center can be purchased from the Office of Personnel Management for $100. Purchasers of the Benefits Center CD will receive a free updated version of Benefits Center in Spring 1998. The updated version will contain any changes in the law or regulations so agencies can be confident that employees are getting accurate information.

A quick demonstration of Benefits Center can be seen at OPM's web site. The Benefits Center demo is at http://www.opm.gov/bc-demo.

For additional information fax 202-606-1108 or email asd@opm.gov.

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