SUNDAY,FEBRUARY 8, 2015 WSJ3 ... McDonald’sWon’t Tell Yo u

($7.96) and Wendy’s ($7.87). (The nationwide minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.) B Y C HARLES PASSY Ms.Harysays the company supports “fair wagesaligned Thefood maybegetting bet- with acompetitivemarket- ter, but businessisgetting worse place,” and adds that anyin- forthe iconic fast-food chain. crease in the minimum wage should be gradual, to minimize ‘Wemay have lost the recipe itsimpact on employers. 1 to our secret sauce.’ Ah, McDonald’s, wherewe ‘Wemay notbeascharita- feast upon Big Macs,Egg Mc- 3 ble as we seem.’ Muffins and even the occasional McDonald’sphilanthropic sweet-chili chicken McWrap. In effortsfocus on itsRonald the U.S.,the fast-food chain, McDonald House Charities founded in 1948,has sales al- (RMHC) organization, which most three times as big as its maintains 300-plus residences nearestcompetitor. that provide housing forfami- World-wide,the company lies when achild is being serves almost 70 million cus- treated at anearby hospital. tomersaday,inmorethan 100 But some critics have ques- countries.In2014, such feasting tioned howgenerous equated to revenue of $27.4 bil- McDonald’sis. A2013 report by lion. public-health lawyer Michele Si- But these days,thingsdon’t mon found that McDonald’s seem golden under the Golden provided only one-fifth of the Arches.McDonald’srecently re- funding forRMHC in 2012. Si- ported that itsnet income in mon also reported that the fourth quarter of 2014 McDonald’sgave0.32% of its dropped by 21% from ayear pretax profitstocharity (based earlier.And in January, the on asix-year average), while companychanged management, other corporations of similar infurt

with CEO retir- sizegaveanaverage of 1.01%. Re

ing. McDonald’sdeclined to com- Jon What’sbehind the company’s ment on Ms.Simon’sreport. woes? Some restaurant experts terMcDonald’sclosed restau- much of itsmenu as high in cal- ‘Our franchisees aren’tal- ances everywherefrom citethe Chipotle factor: Fast-ca- ‘For every success, rantsinCrimea following Rus- ories and saturated fat. Ms. 8 ways happycampers.’ McDonald’srestaurantsto sual chains—widely seen as 4 we have plenty of Hula sia’sannexation of the Harysays the chain is “provid- In the U.S.,90% of schools and libraries.He’son healthier,and morepopular Burger flops.’ Ukrainian region, the Russian inginformation to enable our McDonald’srestaurantsare in- Twitter, and even takesselfies. with millennials—aregrabbing TheBig Mac,the Quarter government closed several of gueststomakeinformed dependently owned and oper- But while Ronald’sschedule market share. Othersfault the Pounder and the McRib are thechain’srestaurantsinMos- choices.” ated by franchisees. But there’s would seem to demand deploy- proliferation of newitems on some of McDonald’siconic in- cow,Sochi and other cities,os- dissension in the franchise ment of multiple clowns, McDonald’s menu, which has ventions.But the chain has also tensibly because of sanitation ‘“Pink slime” wasn’tour only ranks: In arecent survey by McDonald’sdoesn’t publicly ac- been linked to slowerservice. launched itsshareofduds. issues. 7 controversial ingredient.’ Janney Capital Marketsanalyst knowledgethat it employs more McDonald’sspokeswoman Among them: the Hula Burger In aconferencecall before In 2011, McDonald’swas Mark Kalinowski, some franchi- than one Ronald. Becca Harysays that “2014was (with asliceofgrilled pineapple his retirement wasannounced, ahead of manycompetitorsin sees expressed frustration with adifficult year and performance substituting forabeef patty), Mr.Thompson said McDonald’s removing acontroversial ingre- the companyfor itsmarketing ‘We’ve gotasecret fell short of our expectations,” McSalad Shakers(asalad wasin“recovery mode” in Rus- dient from itshamburgers—a effortsand formaking changes 10 menu.’ but that “our management team served in acup) and even a sia and China with afocus on finely texturedbeef dubbed tooslowly.(Ms.Harysays the LikeStarbucks and other is focused on regaining momen- McPizza. “winning customersback.” “pink slime” by critics. study captures the views of a chains,McDonald’shas a“se- tum.” Wall Street analystssay But food-safety advocates small number of the chain’s cret menu”—widely discussed McDonald’srecent paucity of ‘We’re still getting blamed continue to expressconcern 2,000-plus franchisees.) online—ofdishes that canbe ‘Wesay “opportunity”;oth- “breakthrough” items has some 6 forthe obesityepidemic.’ about McDonald’sbeef,which Franchisees have also com- created by piecing together in- 2 ers say“low-wage job.” ’ investorsconcerned. Afterthe 2004 release of the isn’t hormone-free (some critics plainedabout newmenu items gredientsfromestablished About 1.9million people documentary“Super SizeMe”— believethe hormones pose a that result in slowerservice. “Our items. world-wide work for ‘We’ve facedplenty of chal- in which filmmaker Morgan health risk), andits breads, kitchen comes to ahalt when we ThePoor Man’sBig Mac,for McDonald’s. And likeother fast- 5 lenges overseas.’ Spurlock ateonly McDonald’s which contain azodicarbon- getanorder foraMcWrap,” one example,isaMcDouble burger food chains,McDonald’shas McDonald’shas astrong food for30days,and gained 24 amide,achemical that makes franchisee told TheWall Street with extralettuceand “special come under fire forpaying low presenceincities around the pounds—McDonald’sbecame a breads fluffier but is also found Journal last year. sauce” insteadofketchup and wages. world, from Abu Dhabi to Za- symbol of ’srole in in yoga mats. mustard. TheChicken McGrid- PayScale,afirm that tracks greb.But over the past year,the America’sobesity epidemic. McDonald’ssays it is com- ‘Therecould be morethan dle is aMcChicken patty be- compensation data, puts chain has runintoheadline- Sincethen, McDonald’shad mitted to being transparent 9 one Ronald.’ tween two McGriddle cakes. McDonald’smedian payfor res- grabbing issues abroad. addedmoremenu items that about the ingredientsituses, RonaldMcDonald has been And the Land, Sea and Air taurant workersat$7.74 an In China, itsmeat supplier nutritionistsapproveof, and andthat it will begin purchas- part of thecompany’smarket- Burger? It’sagut-busting amal- hour,slightly belowthat of such wasaccused of selling goods eliminated the “” op- ingverifiable sustainable beef ing formorethan 50 years. The gamofaBig Mac,aFilet-O-Fish competitorsasBurgerKing beyond their shelf life. And af- tion. But nutritionistsstill fault by 2016. red-haired clown makes appear- and aMcChicken sandwich.

YOUR BENEFITS Some TakeawaysonFederal Benefits REPORTINGSO BY JENNIFER WATERS

As fervently as Americans POWERFUL,ITJUMPS defend their So- cial Security (“keep your government RIGHTOFF THEPAGE. hands off …”), manyknowlittle about the federal program that distributed $890 billion last year to morethan 66 million people. Partly because of itscomplexity,a big chunk of retirees and disabled people receiving benefits(or pre- paring to)walk blindly intoit, leaving big bucks on the table. We can’t begin to addressall the intricacies here, but will lay out principal pieces youshould know as youembark on retire- ment. Look to the Social Security Administration itself (though be prepared forlong waits) and professionals to guide you through the mazethat is Social Security and Medicare. Lars eetaru Your full retirement ageis sults, depending on the incomes Stay married for10years. key. TheSocial Security Admin- of both earners, the sizeoftheir Youneed to be wedded at least istration pegs monthly benefits nest eggs, and, again, health and that long to claim an ex’s bene- to full retirement age, or FRA, longevity expectations.For survi- fits,which could be as much as which is 66 nowbut ramps up to vorbenefits, think long term: 50% of FRAbenefits. Your 67 fortoday’s55-year-olds.If Ask who’s likely to livelonger claim—if you’redivorcedbut ha- youtakebenefitsearlier,say at andwhat claiming strategyas- ven’t remarried beforeyou turn 62,they arepermanently re- sures the highest benefits. 60—won’t affect your ex’s bene- duced foreach month before “The survivingspouse will re- fits or those of your ex’s new FRA. Putthem off past FRA, and ceivewhichever of their two spouse.You’realso eligible for youget increased credits. benefitsisthe greatest amount,” survivor’s benefits. says MaryJane Yarrington, se- Not all benefitsare equal. nior policyanalyst at National Beware earningslimits. If Social Security uses projected CommitteetoPreserveSocial Se- youcollect benefitsbeforeFRA earningstoestimatefuturebene- curity and Medicare. If you’re and continue to work,part of fits,but the numbersyou see on thehigher earner but with the your benefitswill be withheld. In annual statementsmay not mate- shortest projected lifetime, 2015,it’s$1for every$2of INTRODUCING THENEW WSJAPP FORiOS. rialize. If youstopworking,for shelveclaiming benefitsfor as wagesover$15,720. example,the projections maybe long as possible.“Long term, the It’snot apenalty.Benefitsyou Thenew WSJapp delivers allthe world-classreportingyou need,with overstated. Low-wageearnersget early retirement of one spouse didn’t getare deferred and recal- enhanced featuresand visual storytellingthat bring the Journaltolife. And ahigher proportion of their earn- matters very little if the other culated when youreach FRA. it’s alldelivered in aclean,simple interface. What’s more, we’llalsoinclude a ingsthan higher-wageworkers. spouse maximizesbenefits.” If filing fordisability,get a year’s subscription to Evernote Premium*—yourultimateproductivitytool. Benefitsare based on a“pri- Forcouples,the file-and-sus- lawyer.The processisexhaustive maryinsuranceamount” derived pend and restricted-filing strate- and protracted. So go ahead,fuelyourambition anytime. Anywhere. from acomplexformula based gies arepopular.But remember, on the35yearsofyour highest onespouse cannot collect bene- Social Security income is “indexed” earnings—not the last fits on the record of another who taxable. If amarried couple’s 35.(Indexing adjustswages to hasn’t filed, and youcan’t both combined income tops $44,000 reflect the standardofliving.) use the same strategy. If youfile ($34,000 forsingles), as much as TheSSA claims that no mat- at FRA, no matterwhen your 85% of the benefit is taxable. terwhen youtakebenefits, the spouse files,you will get50% of Lower-income folks could see as end result is “actuarially” equal, his or her benefit. much as 50% of benefitstaxed. meaning it all comes out the same foryou. That’sdebatable.It Beware of “deemed” filing. Tidbits. Social Security rules boils down to awager on how Youcannot file forspousal bene- aregender-neutral and, in most long you’ll live, what’sbecome fits beforeFRA and postpone states,apply to same-sexmar- knownasa“longevity bet.” Use collecting your ownbenefits. If riages.Benefitsare paid amonth amortality calculator to help youtry,SSA will see it as youfil- late(January’scomes in Febru-

(Northwestern Mutual has a ing forboth benefitsearly.You’ll ary). Youcannot refuse Medicare *A complimentary one year subscription to EvernotePremiumiscurrently available onlytoU.S. subscriberswho areeligible forWSJ+. nifty one at lifespancalc.com). getthe higher of the two,which Part Bunlessyou arecovered To activate your EvernotePremiumsubscription,you must join WSJ+ andfollowthe activation processdescribed at wsjplus.com. To take might be acombination of your under agroup health plan advantage of afull year of complimentary access to EvernotePremium, youmustcontinuepastthe initialtrial periodofyourWSJ subscription. Married couples have benefits and your spouse’s, but through an employer. (Cobra ©2015Dow Jones &Co.,Inc.All rights reserved.3DJ174 choices. Different scenarios can youwill be locked intothis lower coverage doesn’t count.) Youwill lead to good, betterand best re- benefit forever. need extrahealth-carecoverage.