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Gran Torino Shut Out of Oscars
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2009 Comment (45)Last year, a movie about a small-town sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) contemplating retirement, No Country for Old Men, won an Academy Award for Best Picture. This year’s most famous movie about retirement, Gran Torino, in which Clint Eastwood plays a retired Detroit autoworker, didn’t receive a single nomination in any category.
Both movies have a large macho factor, plenty of shooting, and sometimes lament generational differences and changing times. And the two movies are also touchingly sad at places.
Tell us, why did No Country for Old Men win Best Picture, and then Gran Torino doesn’t even get a nod?
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Are AARP Discounts and Products the Best Deals?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2009 Comment (4)Americans can count on receiving an invitation to join AARP when they reach age 50. The Washington DC-based giant advocacy group has 40 million members who get discounts on hotels and rental cars and become eligible for vetted products like cobranded Medicare supplemental insurance from UnitedHealth, automobile and homeowners insurance, life insurance, and long-term care insurance.
The AARP brand is one of the most well-known and respected names in the country. Some 82 percent of Americans say they trust information that comes from AARP, according to a Harris Poll conducted in November 2008, behind only Consumer Reports (92 percent) and the American Red Cross (88 percent).
But a recent Bloomberg television special report questions whether the products AARP recommends are the best deal for consumers. “The members of AARP don’t understand that AARP gets significant dollars, double the dollars they receive from their members, by endorsing these products,” Tom Orecchio, past chairman of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, told Bloomberg. “They have an inherent conflict of interest in recommending these products to their members.”
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Avoid This 401(k) Trap
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2009 Comment (2)The average 401(k) plan offers 18 investment choices. The top three most commonly offered options are actively managed domestic equity funds (77 percent of plans), actively managed international equity funds (73 percent), and indexed domestic equity funds (70 percent), according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America. These are also the funds employees choose most frequently to invest in.
But blindly picking a few different stock funds isn’t diversification. Jonathan Pond, a financial planner and author of Safe Money in Tough Times: Everything You Need to Know to Survive the Financial Crisis, says that many people are unwittingly overloading on stocks in their 401(k) plans. “Many plan participants spread their money among a variety of funds in the plan, thinking they're well diversified, but they end up with far too much money invested in stocks,” he says.
Employees should pay attention to how their money is allocated between stock and bond, money market, and stable value fund choices. “Simply putting money blindly into a bunch of stock funds could result in further big losses if the stock market continues to stumble,” cautions Pond.
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Cheney in Wheelchair for Inauguration Ceremony
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (33)Former Vice President Dick Cheney was in a wheelchair for today’s presidential inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. Cheney, who will be 68 on Jan. 30, pulled a muscle in his back moving boxes, according to Dana Perino, former White House press secretary.
Cheney was moving from the Naval Observatory to a new house in McLean, Va. when the injury occurred. The vice president's doctor found no significant damage, but advised Cheney to spend a few days in a wheelchair.
He is expected to retire and collect a pension worth an estimated $132,451 per year, according to the National Taxpayers Union.
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Few Retirement Savers Left The Stock Market Last Year
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (4)Only a small portion of retirement savers pulled their money out of the stock market last year. Just 14 percent of retirement plan participants made any kind of change to their 401(k) asset allocation in 2008, according to retirement plan administrator Mercer, which oversees 401(k) accounts for 1.2 million Americans.
Those who did make changes fled the stock market and sought safety, shifting their assets from equity markets into stable value and money market funds.
Mercer has also seen a jump in the number of people requesting withdrawals from their accounts compared to last year, especially in November and December, and an increase in the number of participants who have stopped contributing to their employer’s 401(k) plan. “Mercer has seen more participants decrease rather than increase their contribution rates throughout 2008, a trend rarely seen in more stable economic times,” the firm said.
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Labor Dept: Brokerage Firms Can Give 401(k) Advice
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (1)The U.S. Department of Labor finalized a rule on Friday that would allow financial advisers affiliated with mutual funds and brokerage firms to give investment advice to 401(k) and IRA participants. The advisers will have to disclose how the company earns fees and the computer models used.
The Labor Department says the move would make investment advice more accessible. "Access to professional investment advice is particularly important now for workers as they manage their 401(k) plans and IRAs in changing and volatile financial markets," says Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.
Some lawmakers say this rule will open the door for investment companies to offer advice that benefits financial services firms and not employees. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), issued a statement saying they will block implementation of this regulation. It reads:
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10 More Cities With Job Opportunities for Older Workers
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (8)Many Americans who have seen their retirement accounts significantly decline this year will need to seek work during the traditional retirement years. It will be challenging, but not impossible for older workers to find jobs right now. It helps if you know where to look.
U.S. News recently consulted with RetirementJobs.com to come up with a list of the 10 best cities for retirement-age job seekers to find work. But those cities aren’t the only ones that have job opportunities in relatively recession-resistant industries that also tend to welcome older workers such as healthcare, higher education, government, and service-industry jobs.
Here are 10 more cities with job opportunities for older workers.
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Dick Cheney Will Get a $132,451 Pension
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 Comment (8)Vice President Dick Cheney will weather the bear market with a pension worth an estimated $132,451 per year. His pension, based on service as a Representative, Vice President, and other executive branch posts, will also be regularly adjusted for the cost of living.
Cheney, currently age 67, could accumulate a lifetime retirement benefit of $3.24 million if he reaches his predicted life expectancy of 84.4 years, according to calculations by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). That figure does not include any possible savings Cheney accumulated in the tax-deferred federal Thrift Savings Plan, which is similar to a private-sector 401(k) plan.
Former Vice President Al Gore’s initial pension in 2001 was approximately $94,810, NTU estimates. Cost of living adjustments bring Gore’s 2009 benefit up to $120,378.
President Bush will get a $196,700 pension this year.
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President Bush Will Get a $196,700 Pension
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 Comment (33)President George W. Bush will ride out the recession with a pension of $196,700. The pension begins immediately upon his departure from office at noon on Inauguration Day, January 20. And unlike many private sector pensions, Bush’s payouts will grow to $203,600 next year and $210,700 in 2011.
In contrast, private sector workers have their pensions insured by the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. up to a maximum benefit of $54,000 in 2009 for those who retire at age 65 and elect payments as a single life annuity. But because Bush is age 62, if he claimed a private sector pension this year he would only be insured for $42,666. Former presidents currently receive a pension that is equal to pay for the head of an executive department.
In addition to a pension, the 1958 Former Presidents Act provides past presidents with support staff, office space, travel funds, and mailing privileges. The legislation aims “to maintain the dignity of that great office” and to prevent an expresident from engaging “in business or [an] occupation which would demean the office he has held or capitalize upon it in any way deemed improper.” Prior to 1958, former Presidents leaving office received no pension or federal assistance. Some former Presidents — including Ulysses Grant and Harry Truman — struggled financially after leaving office. Total allowances for former presidents in fiscal year 2008 were $518,000 for Jimmy Carter, $786,000 for George H. W. Bush, and $1,162,000 for Bill Clinton, fueled primarily by his office space in Harlem, New York. Carter’s Atlanta office and Bush’s Houston office are considerably less expensive.
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Pilot Chesley Sullenberger’s Extensive Experience Helped Land Plane
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 Comment (21)If you needed evidence that companies should hold on to their older and experienced workers, look no future than Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the 57-year-old pilot of US Airways flight 1549 that crash-landed into the Hudson River yesterday. All 155 passengers and crew on the flight, which left LaGuardia airport in New York, but never made it to Charlotte, N.C., survived. “He’s proof positive that older workers still got it,” comments Renee Ward, founder and publisher of Seniors4Hire.org, a job website for older workers. Here’s a look at some key factors in Sullenberger's resume that may have contributed to his quick action under pressure.
Experience matters. Sullenberger's experience appears to have prepared him for dangerous and unexpected situations. He has spent over 40 years flying planes, including seven years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot. He joined US Airways in 1980.
Leadership roles. Sullenberger also hasn’t shied away from teaching or leadership positions. The Danville, Calif. resident served as a flight instructor, helped develop and implement a crew resource management course, and served as Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman.
