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Higher Medicare Premiums in Store For Some Retirees
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2009 Comment (11)The recession is taking its toll on Social Security and especially Medicare. This year’s annual checkup found that the Social Security trust fund is predicted to be exhausted until 2037, 4 years sooner than last year, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees report. Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is expected to be emptied even sooner, in 2017.
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Decline in Traditional Pensions Hits New Low
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2009 Comment (21)Fortune 100 companies were once employers where workers were likely to get gold-plated retirement benefits. But that’s no longer the case, at least for new hires. Less than half (45 percent) of Fortune 100 companies currently offer traditional or hybrid pensions to new hires, according to a new analysis by consulting firm Watson Wyatt, down from 49 percent in 2008 and 90 percent in 1998. New employees will only be offered a 401(k) or similar type of retirement account at 55 percent of Fortune 100 companies this year. Last year was the first time 401(k) plans outnumbered traditional pension plans among Fortune 100 companies.
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Career Changers After Age 50 Are Permanently Worse Off
Tweet Share on Facebook May 11, 2009 Comment (104)Workers who find new jobs after age 50 often take pay cuts, give up pension and health care benefits, and lose managerial duties. But their new jobs often involve less stress and more flexible schedules, a new study found.
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Men and Women Face Distinct Retirement Challenges
Tweet Share on Facebook May 8, 2009 Comment (1)It’s the battle of the sexes: retirement edition. Two reports crossed my desk this week each pointing out unique retirement challenges faced by either men or women. Here’s a quick look.
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Employee Misperceptions About Target-Date Funds
Tweet Share on Facebook May 7, 2009 Comment (1)Target-date funds are often marketed as fix-it-and-forget-it funds for people who know little about asset allocation. They typically provide a mix of investments including stocks, bonds, and cash that grow more conservative as you approach a retirement date of your own choosing. New employees are often automatically enrolled in target-date funds if they don’t specifically opt out. In fact, the most popular default investment option for 401(k)s is currently target-date funds, which 53 percent of 401(k) plans used in 2008, up from 35 percent in 2007, according to the consulting firm Greenwich Associates.
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Wells Fargo Freezes Pension Plan
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2009 Comment (18)Wells Fargo, a company that announced record earnings of $3.05 billion in April, is freezing its traditional pension plan for employees. Current participants in both the Wells Fargo and Wachovia cash balance plans will retain their accrued benefits and account balances, but will not receive any more retirement compensation in the plan after July 1, 2009.
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How Long Will It Take Your Nest Egg to Recover?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (7)Most Americans aren’t expecting their retirement accounts to recover the losses of the past year any time soon. The majority of workers think it will take 4 or more years to recoup market declines or that their 401(k) will never recover, according to a telephone survey of 1,000 adults conducted in April by Opinion Research Corporation and Edward Jones. Respondents say they expect their retirement savings to recover the losses of the past year:
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Survey: Americans Want Pensions Back
Tweet Share on Facebook May 4, 2009 Comment (11)Americans with shrunken nest eggs are feeling nostalgic for pensions. About half of those without a pension (55 percent), say the old-fashioned retirement plan would ease their money worries, according to a National Institute on Retirement Security survey. However, not all workers with pensions are sleeping soundly. Only about 65 percent of Americans with a pension are confident that the payout will be there at retirement.
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10 Cities with Affordable Nursing Homes
Tweet Share on Facebook May 1, 2009 Comment (5)You might want to do something nice for your children today, at least if you plan to seek their help paying for a nursing home. A private room in a skilled nursing facility now costs a median price of $74,208 annually, or about $203 a day, according to a new survey.
