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Current Costs That Compete with Retirement Savings
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2010 CommentMost people understand that it’s important to save for retirement. But there are many other more immediate goals that compete for your limited funds.
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7 401(k) Mistakes You’re Probably Making
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2010 Comment (19)The typical 401(k) balance rebounded in 2009. Above average market returns and continued worker and employer contributions caused the average 401(k) balance to climb from $57,150 in 2008 to $70,970 in 2009, according to a recent Hewitt Associates analysis of 3 million employees at 120 large companies. But balances are still below the 2007 high of $79,570. And many employees continue to make 401(k) choices that may not get them to a secure retirement. Here are a few 401(k) mistakes some workers continue to make.
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Increased Target-Date Fund Disclosures Proposed
Tweet Share on Facebook April 27, 2010 CommentThe federal government wants retirement savers to have more information about the risks and benefits of investing in target-date funds. The Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced a proposed amendment yesterday aimed at providing investors with comprehensive information about their retirement plan’s target-date fund offerings.
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Most Retirees are Cautious Spenders
Tweet Share on Facebook April 26, 2010 CommentWhen seniors retire, unless they purchase annuities or utilize traditional pensions, they are expected to have a plan to spend down their assets. The problem is that if you live longer than expected you could run out of money and become completely dependent on Social Security.
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How Divorce Affects Retirement Benefits
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2010 Comment (51)Divorce after age 50 can severely disrupt your retirement plans. Access to pensions, retirement account balances, and Social Security benefits are all impacted by both marriage and divorce. U.S. News asked Janice Green, a family law attorney in Austin, Texas and author of the new book Divorce After 50: Your Guide to the Unique Legal and Financial Challenges, how a late-life divorce typically affects retirement assets. Excerpts:
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Baby Boomers Supporting Parents, Adult Children
Tweet Share on Facebook April 22, 2010 Comment (3)Many baby boomers are helping to financially support both their parents and their adult children. Almost a third (31 percent) of relatively wealthy Americans are supporting older and younger immediate family members at the same time, according to a new Merrill Lynch Wealth Management survey of 1,000 people with investable assets of $250,000 or more.
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Paper Social Security Checks To Be Retired
Tweet Share on Facebook April 21, 2010 CommentRetirees will no longer need to check the mail box for their monthly Social Security check. Paper Social Security payments will soon be retired. The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this week that new Social Security recipients will be required to collect their due by direct deposit into a bank account or a government Direct Express Debit MasterCard beginning on March 1. 2011. Existing Social Security beneficiaries will have until March 1, 2013 to switch to electronic payments.
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Talking About Long-Term Care
Tweet Share on Facebook April 19, 2010 CommentMost people approaching retirement age have not discussed long-term care preferences with their spouse or adult children. Many Americans (65 percent) haven’t brought up the topic because they are afraid it will upset family members to talk about the possibility of needing long-term care, according to a recent Age Wave and Harris Interactive survey underwritten by Genworth Financial. Another 35 percent of the 2,939 survey respondents between the ages of 18 and 90 haven’t begun a long-term care conversation because they themselves feel uncomfortable talking about it. Younger people under age 35 were generally more uncomfortable talking about in themselves, while older people don’t want to upset their relatives.
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Deciding Where to Move in Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2010 Comment (6)The sun belt was the preferred retirement destination for the parents of the baby boomers. But the favored retirement states among baby boomers are actually North and South Carolina, according to a recent Del Webb survey. Some 36 percent of 50-year-old baby boomers planning to relocate in retirement are considering the Carolinas, beating out Florida (15 percent), Tennessee (9 percent), Arizona (8 percent), California (8 percent), and Virginia (8 percent).
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Last Minute IRA Contributions
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2010 Comment (1)Retirement savers haven until April 15 to make 2009 IRA contributions. The maximum 2009 deposit is $5,000 for workers under age 50 and $6,000 for those age 60 and over.
