STRICTLY BUSINESS: EMPLOYEES SEEK MORE THAN WAGES

Salary isn't everything!

In fact, 60 percent of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers who participated in a "New Face of Retirement" poll recently, say they would take a job with a lower salary and excellent retirement medical benefits before they would choose a position with a higher salary and poor retirement benefits.

Though the majority of both the Boomer and Gen X populations surveyed considered retirement benefits more important than salary, the Gen Xers placed slightly less emphasis in this regard -- 64 percent versus 53 percent.

Baby Boomers in this survey of more than 500 people in small- and medium-sized companies, are defined as those between 34 and 52 years of age. Gen Xers are those people between the ages of 25 and 33 years of age.

Clearly, many Gen Xers are counting on 401(k)-style retirement plans. The Gen Xers are counting on the 401(k) as a means of borrowing for financing major expenditures in the future, and the purchase of a first home, as well as saving money for retirement.

Other findings in the survey, which was conducted last month, commissioned by Transmerica Asset Management Retirement Services, headquartered in Los Angeles.

-- 82 percent of those polled plan to retire before the age of 65 if they feel financially secure.

-- 76 percent are concerned that Social Security will not be there when they retire.

-- 71 percent say that compared to their parents' generation, people in their generation will have a much harder time achieving financial security.

-- 70 percent of the Boomers and 60 percent of the Gen Xers said that between $250,000 to $1 million was their target savings.

-- 24 percent of the younger generation wanted between $1 million and $2 million to feel secure, while 17 percent of their older counterparts felt they need to be millionaires at retirement.

Dow: 10,000 in 1999?

"Dow Jones industrial average bulled its way to a new milestone Monday, closing at more than 9,000 points."

This was a headline of April 7, 1998, the day following the announcement of a $70 billion merger of financial giants Citicorp and Travelers Group.

This was also the day that the Dow closed at more than 9,000 for the first time.

The Dow actually passed 9,000 for the first time during the day Friday, April 3, but settled back at the close, to 8,983.42.

The Dow was led on that record Monday by the financial industry.

The new milestone came 189 days after hitting 8,000, bringing on some prediction that it would top the 10,000 mark by year's end.

That didn't happen. A week shy of eight months have passed since the Dow hit the 9,000 level, with the market hovering around the 9,200 mark last week.

But the 10,000 predictions for 1999 are out there.

The January issue of Money Magazine projects that the benchmark Dow industrial average will top 10,000 in 1999.

A few Edward Jones representatives see the possibility for "10,000 in 1999."

And A.G. Edwards financial forecasters say it could happen by spring.

Marsha Limbaugh, branch manager of the local A.G. Edwards office, says the U.S. economy is healthier than most other economies and that the U.S. economic expansion is likely to continued through 1999.

Stuart Freeman, chief equity strategist for A.G. Edwards, says the stock market is expected to resume its upward climb, to the 10,000 mark by spring.

Still, many stock brokers are looking at the "10,000 by 2,000" motto.

The Dow Jones industrial average is a daily tracking of the performance of stocks of 30 big U.S. companies.

It took more than 76 years for the Dow, first published on May 26, 1896, to gain its first 1,000 points, it took just 189 trading days to move from 8,000 to 9,000. That was the third-quickest move of 1,000 points: It took just 89 trading days to climb from 6,000 to 7,000 and 110 days to move from 7,000 to 8,000.

The Dow underwent some changes last year. Some new growth stocks -- including Wal Mart -- were added. Four stocks were replaced in the Dow in March.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. replaced Woolworth Corp.; Travelers Group replaced Westinghouse Electric Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. replaced Texaco Inc., and Johnson & Johnson replaced Bethlehem Steel Corp.

That marked the first change since May 1991, when three stocks were replaced. The largest change ever -- other than when the Dow was increased from 12 to 20 stocks in 1926 and then to 30 stocks in 1928 --occurred in May 1932, when eight stocks were changed.

Changes to the Dow are determined by The Wall Street Journal editors, who don't change it often.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.