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wbjournal.com | April 29, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 9 DOES YOUR COMPANY'S RETIREMENT PLAN STACK UP? As a plan sponsor, don't let your fiduciary responsibility get hung up solely on fees. Our ar cle on benchmarking can help you discover why periodically reviewing your plans is an important step to take to ensure they con nue to be relevant to your company and its employees. Let our experts show you how your defined contribu on plan ranks against similar plans with a FREE benchmarking report. Learn more at hhconsultants.com/benchmarking City Council and a second-generation participant in the study. "It's remarkable how many people around the world know of Framingham because of the heart study," he said. Roughly 4,000 people participate in the study today, typically undergoing exams every three years. Even those who've moved out of the area still take part, with staff working to arrange ex- ams during summer or holiday visits. Participants and their family mem- bers have gotten used to stopping by the program's white building off Union Avenue just north of downtown, where roughly 70 people conduct the exams. "Because it's multigenerational, there's a strong sense of belonging. ere's a sense of altruism," said principal investi- gator Dr. Vasan Ramachandran. Doctors at the Framingham Heart Study have continued monitoring not only that first group but two generations since. Only roughly 20 of the original participants are still living, but their children have participated since 1971, and their grandchildren since 2002. Demographic limitations from the study's outset have been fixed. e first cohort was all white, so later generations have included a broader ethnic range of participants, Ramachandran said. e latest government funding may not have been a surprise for study lead- ers, but its future wasn't guaranteed. Boston University, whose School of Medicine has staffers working on the study, proposed selling data and genetic information about participants in 2000, an action that would have breached strict privacy protocols since the study's outset, according to Yang. But BU dis- missed those plans. Now, the center's leadership can begin pondering a fourth generation. Giombetti, who has two grandchildren, said he'd love the study to include them. "I'm hoping they will be part of it, too," he said. Rate of heart disease in U.S. '07 100 125 150 175 200 '08 '09 '16 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 deaths 196.1 165.5 Source: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention W