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Workers Uninformed About Pension Plans
Tweet Share on Facebook July 29, 2011 Comment (2)The proportion of private-sector workers with access to traditional pension plans has been declining for decades. And many of those fortunate enough to still have this desirable retirement benefit frequently don’t even understand how the plan works.
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When Will Social Security Statements Become Available?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 28, 2011 Comment (1)For workers with birthdays in July or later in the year, your Social Security benefit statement isn’t in the mail. The Social Security Administration suspended the mailing of annual paper benefit statements to taxpayers in March 2011. Eventually SSA plans to make the statement available online for all workers and resume mailings to individuals age 60 and older, but has not yet set a definitive date when either of these communications will begin taking place.
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GOP Divided Over Social Security Cuts
Tweet Share on Facebook July 22, 2011 Comment (9)The majority of Americans think that Social Security (87 percent) and Medicare (88 percent) are good for the country. And considerably more citizens (60 percent) say it is more important to keep Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are, than to cut entitlements to reduce the budget deficit (32 percent), according to a Princeton Survey Research Associates International survey of 1,502 adults commissioned by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. But opinions are largely split along party and income lines.
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401(k) Match Motivates Retirement Saving
Tweet Share on Facebook July 20, 2011 CommentMost workers are lured into 401(k) plans by the promise of an employer contribution. 401(k) matches are the primary reason that workers participate in 401(k) plans, according to a Boston Research Group survey of 1,000 current and retired 401(k) participants sponsored by Fidelity Investments.
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Baby Boomers Changing Retirement Expectations
Tweet Share on Facebook July 15, 2011 Comment (3)Retirement once meant completely leaving behind the workforce. But older workers are in the process of recharacterizing what it means to be retired.
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The 5 Most Costly Retiree Medical Conditions
Tweet Share on Facebook July 15, 2011 Comment (2)Health care is likely to be one of your biggest retirement expenses. Almost one-third of all health care expenditures are for medical treatment for the elderly, totaling $368.1 billion in 2008. The bulk of this spending is on just five medical conditions, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Md. Some 86 percent of the nation’s 40 million seniors were treated for at least one of the five most costly conditions in 2008. Medicare pays for the majority of these health care expenditures, but all of them also have some out-of-pocket costs. Here’s a look at how much it costs to treat these common retiree medical conditions.
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AARP Tool Estimates Social Security Benefits
Tweet Share on Facebook July 12, 2011 Comment (4)One of the most important retirement decisions you will make is when to begin receiving Social Security benefits. Payouts increase for each year you delay claiming between ages 62 and 70. But selecting a start date is far from a simple decision.
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7 Things We’re Spending Less On
Tweet Share on Facebook July 8, 2011 CommentFor the first time in 2009, consumers spent less money than they did the year before. Household spending decreased 2.8 percent from $50,486 in 2008 to $49,067 in 2009. This is the first spending dip since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began measuring consumer spending in 1984. Consumers cut their spending on almost all goods and services except for health care (up 5 percent), education (up 2.1 percent), and tobacco products (up 19.9 percent) between 2008 and 2009, the Consumer Expenditure Survey found. Here’s a look at what we’re now spending less on.
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How to Prevent Outliving Your Retirement Savings
Tweet Share on Facebook July 7, 2011 Comment (19)Saving enough money to support yourself in retirement isn’t the only retirement challenge you will face. Retirement savers must also manage their investments throughout an unknown number of retirement years. A recent Government Accountability Office report identified strategies to ensure that you will have income throughout retirement. Here is how to prevent outliving your nest egg.
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Couples Disagree About Retirement Plans
Tweet Share on Facebook July 1, 2011 CommentMarried couples don’t always agree about when to retire or what they will do once they leave their jobs. Even fewer spouses agree about how they will fund retirement.
