Planning to Retire
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When Retirement Means More Work
Continue reading… 21 CommentsAfter a 34-year career as a public elementary school teacher, my mother will hang up her erasers at the end of the academic year in June. By handing the superintendent a simple, one-page, typed note, Jean Brandon effectively made her most important retirement decision: when to retire.
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Is Retirement a Right or a Privilege?
Continue reading… 21 CommentsDoes everyone who puts in their 35 years in the workforce deserve to retire? Or should only those who save (and manage to invest successfully) have a period of leisure at the end of their life?
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The 20 Most Popular Restaurants for Baby Boomers and Seniors
Continue reading… 9 CommentsIt is common to cut back on eating out when you retire. Frugal retirees trying to stretch their fixed income are also famous for utilizing early bird specials and senior discounts. But most baby boomers and seniors haven't yet given up eating out altogether.
The typical American age 55 and older dines in a restaurant 51 times a year, or about once a week, according to a survey by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research released this month. The top restaurant choices are casual dining (27 visits) and fast food chains (15 visits), but baby boomers and seniors also visit cafés and kiosks (6 visits) and fine dining restaurants (3 visits) occasionally. The most popular food choices include American, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and Seafood. Here's a look at where baby boomers and seniors are dining out.
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What If the Stock Market Never Recovers?
Continue reading… 7 CommentsSome optimists say they are noticing signs of spring in the midst of our collective economic gloom. But no one is entirely sure what the pattern of economic recovery will look like. A new Urban Institute analysis released yesterday tested out 3 possible stock market recovery scenarios. If you invested $100 in the S&P 500 in 2007, before the 42 percent market decline, and don’t touch it until 2017, here’s how the researchers project your money will fare under each one.
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Survey: One in Five Companies Have Now Reduced 401(k) Matches
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe number of Americans who no longer have a 401(k) match is growing exponentially. Some 22 percent of companies report they have recently reduced their contributions to employee 401(k) or 403(b) accounts, up from 12 percent in February and just 2 percent in October 2008, according to a Watson Wyatt survey of 141 employers conducted this month. Another 8 percent of employers expect to slim their match in the next 12 months. And 4 percent of the companies surveyed that already trimmed their match plan to further cut employer contributions this year.
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401(k) Fee Disclosure Bill Introduced in House
Continue reading… 8 CommentsWouldn’t it be nice if 401(k) statements looked sort of like nutrition labels on packaged food? The calories, fat, and protein content are neatly spelled out for you in a tidy little box. The information doesn’t necessarily make you eat any healthier, just as I’m sure 401(k) fee disclosure wouldn’t make everyone choose smarter investments. But the data is easily comprehensible for people who want to monitor their diet and get a pretty good idea of what they are eating.
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How Low Will Your 401(k) Go?
Continue reading… 1 CommentThis majority of Americans currently have less than $25,000 in savings. That’s barely enough to finance one year of retirement in most parts of the country. And 20 percent of workers say they have less than $1,000 in savings, according to a recently released Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald & Associates survey.
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10 Sources of Retirement Income
Continue reading… 11 CommentsMost working Americans have only one source of steady income: their job. In retirement you are likely to have a patchwork quilt of several income streams. Retirement accounts, Social Security, home equity, pensions, and part-time work are the most frequently citied sources of expected retirement income, according to a Gallup poll released today. Here’s a look at ten potential sources of retirement income and how many Americans expect to rely on each one.
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How Providing Eldercare Affects Your Job Security
Continue reading… 13 CommentsWhen you need to care for a child with the flu or help your mother get back on her feet after a stroke, sometimes it is necessary to ask for a little flexibility in the hours you work. But employees feel more comfortable asking for and taking time off to care for children than for older relatives, a new study found.
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NFL Broadcaster John Madden Retires
Continue reading… 3 CommentsOne of the most difficult retirement decisions you have to make is choosing when to stop working. Some people gradually cut back their hours, while others work one day and simply don’t go in the next. NFL broadcaster John Madden, a former head coach of the Oakland Raiders, announced his retirement today and released a statement elaborating on how he chose when to retire:
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Large Companies More Likely to Cut Retirement Benefits
Continue reading… 24 CommentsEmployees of large companies have long had access to cushier retirement and other benefits than workers at smaller companies. But part of that gap may be closing, as least as far as retirement benefits are concerned.
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Free Retirement for Dummies Book
Continue reading… 6 CommentsHumana, a health-benefits company, and Wiley Publishing are giving away free hard copies and a downloadable version of Retirement for Dummies. This short 68-page guide has sections covering signing up for Medicare, managing your money, and caring for loved ones. The bright yellow paperback book also provides the addresses of useful websites to get more information about each topic. You can sign up here.
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Why Retirement is Getting Tougher
Continue reading… 1 CommentA perfect storm of financial forces have all conspired to make retirement especially rocky for the oldest baby boomers. Optimism about retirement prospects among all age groups has dropped sharply in the past year. Some 54 percent of Americans say they are less confident about having enough money for retirement than they were last year, according to an Employee Benefit Research Institute telephone survey of 1,257 Americans age 25 and older conducted in January 2009.
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Americans Lose Confidence in Ability to Retire
Continue reading… 3 CommentsOptimism about a retirement filled with golf and gardening is being replaced by a vision of retirement that includes work for pay and a considerable amount of cutting back. Only 13 percent of Americans say they are very confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to a new survey. That’s a record low since the Employee Benefit Research Institute began asking the question in 1993 and continues a downward trend from 27 percent in 2007 and 18 percent in 2008. Retiree confidence in having a financially secure future has also dropped to a new low, with only 20 percent now saying they are very confident, down from 41 percent in 2007 and 29 percent in 2008.
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How Much Do 401(k) Match Cuts Hurt Your Retirement Prospects?
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe suspension of a 401(k) match for just one year could shrink your nest egg by thousands of dollars in retirement. A 30-year-old worker earning $50,000 annually who contributes 6 percent of his salary to a 401(k) and previously got a 50 percent match will have $16,000 less in retirement if the match is suspended for just one year, according to a new analysis by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm. That number jumps to $48,000 if the employee stops contributing to his 401(k) as well. If that worker becomes discouraged and stops saving altogether for 5 years he will have $150,000 less for retirement, Hewitt calculated. The calculations assume the employee will recieve a 3 percent annual raise and 7 percent returns on investments.
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Your 401(k) May Be Making Someone Else a Millionaire
Continue reading… 5 CommentsStarting to save for retirement in your 20s and continuing throughout your life can make even modest earners millionaires. But you may also be making someone else a millionaire in the process.
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Forced Into Retirement Without Warning
Continue reading… 3 CommentsMany people plan to work until age 62 when Americans become eligible for Social Security. Age 65 is also a popular retirement choice because Medicare eligibility kicks in. But retirement can also happen without warning. An unexpected layoff or health problem can force you into retirement earlier than planned. Some employers will also try to entice you to retire early with a buyout offer. Employees sometimes accept the early retirement incentive because they’re afraid they might be laid off under less favorable terms later.
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Don’t Count on Future Social Security Increases
Continue reading… 59 CommentsSocial Security payouts increased 5.8 percent this year. It was the largest cost-of-living increase in more than 25 years and increased the typical retiree’s check by approximately $63.
But don’t count on a boost in payments next year. A Congressional Budget Office report predicts that there will be no cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries in 2010 through 2012. Although it’s more difficult to make accurate calculations farther into the future, CBO also projects that, after 2012, future cost-of-living adjustments will be less than 2 percent until 2019.
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A Resurgence in Retirement Savings
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThere is no question that almost all American’s retirement account balances are down this year. But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped saving. In fact, 28 percent of Americans have actually managed to save more in the past 12 months, according to a new survey. Plus, a whopping 71 percent of respondents say they have cut back on spending.
The majority (86 percent) are padding their emergency fund, according to the AARP and International Communications Research survey of 1035 Americans age 25 and older conducted in late February and early March. But 73 percent said they are also slashing expenses and painstakingly bumping up their saving in order to have more money available in retirement.
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Retirement Risks are Increasing
Continue reading… 17 CommentsRetirement is risky business. Giving up your income stream and hoping you have enough saved to cover whatever expenses may crop up is a scary prospect, especially without a pension. It’s a good idea to try to calculate how much you need to save. But the truth is, you don’t know how long you might live and can only hypothesize about what health expenses you may incur.
About 64 percent of Americans are at risk for not being financially prepared to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to a new Center for Retirement Research at Boston College study underwritten by Nationwide. The estimate was recently updated to include the possibility of long-term care costs, which caused a spike in the number of unprepared households.
