Business Notes Retirement

Spend Today and Retire Tomorrow may sound like a reckless attitude toward the future, but it could be a painless way to set something aside for the golden years. Launched last week in surburban Washington, START lets people have their nest egg and spend it too. To enter the plan, a consumer pays a one-time enrollment fee of $25. Whenever a member buys something from a participating % company, 1% of the purchase price is put into escrow. Once the escrow balance reaches $100, members can open up a START Plus annuity account. Each account receives a 1% contribution on the first $1,000 spent, 3% on amounts between $1,000 and $2,000, and 6% on subsequent purchases for the balance of the year. Says START chairman Larry Andreini: "For years, companies have offered pension plans to make employees loyal, so why not take that concept to the logical next step and offer customers essentially a pension plan?" Among the companies that have signed on so far: Hertz, MCI, Eddie Bauer and Club Med.