Planning to Retire
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15 Retirement Gems From Our Readers
Continue reading… 1 CommentFor some retirees, a seaside town in Florida is an idyllic retirement spot. But others prefer the excitement of the ski slopes, the beauty of the wine country, or the art and culture that come with living in a big city. This year, U.S. News invited readers to recommend their personal retirement havens. Hundreds of retirees and baby boomers contemplating retirement told us about leisure activities like golf, festivals, and the cost of living in their favorite towns:
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3 Ways Cash Leaks Out of Your 401(k)
Continue reading… 2 CommentsWhile many Americans have valid reasons for raiding their 401(k) during their working years, these early withdrawals can have dire consequences in retirement. Fees and penalties for early distributions can further eat away at your retirement account balance. About 15 percent of 401(k) participants spend some of their nest egg before they’re ready to leave the workforce, according to new Government Accountability Office report. The study identifies three major ways money leaks out of 401(k)s before retirement and how much each one affects your financial security.
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Survey: Strong Bipartisan Support for Automatic IRA
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe automatic IRA, as proposed in President Obama’s 2010 government budget, would require most employers that don’t already offer a retirement plan to enroll their workers in a direct-deposit IRA. A new Hart Research Associates and AARP survey found that 79 percent of adults are in favor of requiring employers with 10 or more workers that have been in business at least two years to offer a retirement plan. Employees would be automatically enrolled, but also given an opportunity to opt out.
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House Votes to Prevent Medicare Premium Increases
Continue reading… 1 CommentA bill passed by the house yesterday would prevent Medicare Part B medical insurance premiums from increasing next year. The legislation, which had 45 cosponsors, passed the house by a vote of 406 to 18.
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Parents Prioritize Retirement Savings Over a College Fund
Continue reading… 1 CommentParents of teenagers have two big expenses looming in the near future: college tuition bills for their children and financing their own retirement. When there’s not enough money to save for both, most parents choose retirement. A recent Sallie Mae and Gallup study found that, when parents were asked what they were saving the most for right now, retirement savings ranked first (27 percent), followed by children’s college costs (14 percent) and an emergency or rainy day fund (14 percent).
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Survey: No Retirement in Sight for Low-Income Seniors
Continue reading… 2 CommentsRetirement is a very distant dream for many low-income older workers. A new survey of unemployed seniors age 55 and older with limited financial resources found that 92 percent plan to work for at least the next five years because they need the money and/or want to stay active. For those who do have a retirement timeline, the average target retirement age is 72.
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What Keeps Retirement Savers Awake at Night
Continue reading… 3 CommentsEmployees and retirees both say they’re losing sleep due to retirement worries. Inflation is the concern that keeps the most retirees (37 percent) from getting their rest. But apprehension about simply being able to afford basic necessities is disturbing the slumber of 44 percent of workers and 30 percent of retirees, according to a recent Harris Interactive and Principal Financial Group online survey of 1147 small and mid-sized business employees and 558 retirees age 60 and over.
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Treasury’s Money Market Guarantee Program Ends
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe Treasury’s guarantee program for money market funds was allowed to expire today. The government insurance of investor assets in money market mutual funds was first established in September 2008 for a three-month period and later extended through September 18 of this year. The program was implemented shortly after the failure of Lehman Brothers when a large money market fund, the Reserve Primary Fund, announced that its net asset value had fallen below $1 per share, or broke the buck.
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College Professors Unsure About Retirement Prospects
Continue reading… 0 CommentsEven college professors and researchers are worried about how best to finance their retirement years. Many academic employees expressed concern about choosing the best way to draw income from their savings to live on during retirement (67 percent), the possibility of outliving their savings (63 percent), and affording good healthcare in retirement (71 percent), according to a TIAA-CREF Institute survey of 1,002 higher education workers between the ages of 50 and 70 released yesterday.
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New Bills Aim to Boost Social Security Checks
Continue reading… 35 CommentsThe Congressional Budget Office predicts that there will be no cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries in 2010 and 2011. The annual benefit boost is tied to the Consumer Price Index under current law. Two new bills were introduced this week proposing to give Social Security recipients a raise next year.
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How the House Health Bill Could Affect Granny
Continue reading… 1 CommentA provision in the House's healthcare reform bill would add coverage of a voluntary consultation about end-of-life care to a Medicare recipient’s benefits once every five years. The clause would require Medicare to pay doctors for their time helping patients to make a living will or appointing a health proxy. End-of-life care consultations would also be covered by Medicare whenever a patient undergoes a qualifying event, such as the diagnosis of a life threatening or chronic illness, admission to a long‐term care or skilled nursing facility, or a hospice program.
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As Baby Boomers Spend Their Savings, Will the Stock Market Decline?
Continue reading… 4 CommentsSome economists say that when the baby boomers sell off their assets to pay for retirement, there could be a decline in demand for stocks. If all the members of this unusually large generation sold their stocks at the same time, the theory goes, the prices of those assets could fall. But a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis found that baby boomers will not sell their accumulated assets quickly after they retire. “An evaluation of the evidence, however, indicates that such a dramatic decline in asset demand and prices is unlikely,” says Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO in the report. Here’s why the CBO says baby boomers won’t deplete their nest eggs too fast and cause a stock market decline.
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Bill Proposes Tougher Penalties for Scamming Older Investors
Continue reading… 2 CommentsLegislation introduced in the House and Senate yesterday would enact harsher penalties against people who commit securities violations against senior citizens. Under the proposed Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act, each infringement targeted toward an investor age 62 or older would carry an extra $50,000 civil fine in additional to the normal penalties. Violations could include selling products unsuitable for the older investor’s age, failing to disclose fees, charging large penalty fees, or giving the customer a different investment product than the one that was marketed.
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AARP Names 10 Best Employers for Workers Over Age 50
Continue reading… 6 CommentsEach year the AARP names the 50 best employers for workers over age 50. The list has particular relevance this year because more older Americans are working or seeking work than before the recession began.
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3 Ways Obama’s Saving Initiatives Will Affect Your Retirement
Continue reading… 17 CommentsPresident Obama announced several new federal initiatives to promote retirement savings today. “I’ve heard from so many who’ve had to put off retirement, or come out of retirement, to make ends meet,” Obama said during his weekly radio address today. “And having too little in savings not only leaves people financially ill-prepared for retirement, but also for whatever challenges life brings.” Obama cited the approximately $2 trillion in retirement savings Americans have lost over the past two years.
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The 10 Biggest Pension Failures
Continue reading… 0 CommentsMany traditional pension plans are currently underfunded. But no pension terminations in fiscal year 2008, which ended September 30, have made it into the ranks of the largest pension terminations since 1975, according to data released this week by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), a government agency that insures private-sector pension plans and pays out benefits if the plan fails.
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Delayed Retirement May Mean Fewer Job Openings
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe recession appears to be having a different impact on young and older Americans—mainly keeping older adults in the workforce and younger ones out of it. Nearly four in 10 employed adults age 62 and older say the economy has forced them to delay their retirement plans, according to a Pew Research Center survey released today. Most adults between the ages of 50 and 61 are considering working during the traditional retirement years as well. At the same time, younger workers are struggling to find a place in the workforce. More than four in 10 nonworking people between the ages of 16 and 24 say they have tried without success to find a job, the Pew Research Center found. Many young people also say they plan to stay in school longer.
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Giving Up on Retirement in the Sun Belt
Continue reading… 1 CommentIt’s fun to dream about retiring in a location where you will never have to shovel snow or defrost your car ever again. But don’t donate your winter coat to charity just yet. Most retirees are never able to pick up and move to the sun belt. In fact, most retirees don’t move at all. And seniors who do relocate tend to stay close to home.
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Financial Security and Flexibility in a Retirement Plan?
Continue reading… 4 CommentsMost workers who save for retirement do so through their workplace retirement plan. Some 61 percent of employees view their company’s retirement program as the primary vehicle to save for retirement, and 29 percent of workers say they would not save for retirement without it, according to a Watson Wyatt survey of 2,232 full-time workers released today. These are the features employees say they want from their workplace retirement plan.
