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6 Ways Social Security Will Change in 2013
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2012 CommentSocial Security recipients will get slightly bigger checks in 2013. The Social Security Administration also recently announced several other ways the program will be tweaked in the coming year. Here’s a look at the Social Security changes workers and retirees will experience next year:
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Retirement Benefits in Decline
Tweet Share on Facebook August 10, 2012 CommentTraditional pension plans have been in decline for decades, and even 401(k) matches continue to be less prevalent than they were five years ago. Retirement benefits that are growing in popularity largely have little cost to employers, including automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans and a Roth 401(k) option, according to a recent survey of 550 human resources professionals who are members of the Society for Human Resource Management. Here’s a look at how retirement benefits have changed over the past five years:
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5 Ways the Recession Changed 401(k) Plans
Tweet Share on Facebook July 26, 2012 CommentFor 401(k) plans to work well, individuals need to sign up, contribute a portion of each paycheck, appropriately invest their savings, and not take any money out of the plan prematurely. Until 2007, 401(k) participants had been gradually improving upon each of these behaviors. But that progression stopped during the recession, and in some cases even reversed. Here is how the recession impacted 401(k) plans:
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Must-Have Gadgets for Retirees
Tweet Share on Facebook July 13, 2012 CommentOlder adults are increasingly adopting new technologies and the Internet. For the first time in 2012, more than half of adults age 65 and older use the Internet, according to a recent Pew Research Center telephone survey of 2,254 adults conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Here’s how older Americans are incorporating new technologies and utilities into their retirement years:
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How the Health Reform Ruling Impacts Retirees
Tweet Share on Facebook June 29, 2012 CommentThe Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act indicates that many of the Medicare changes impacting older Americans and retirees will remain intact. Here’s a look at how retiree out-of-pocket costs have changed due to health reform:
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How Low Interest Rates are Impacting Retirees
Tweet Share on Facebook June 15, 2012 CommentIt’s difficult to earn more than 1 percent interest on money held in a savings account or certificate of deposit. And interest rates for savers aren’t expected to go up any time soon. The Federal Reserve Board has announced its intention to keep interest rates low at least until late 2014.
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Hidden 401(k) Fees You’re Probably Paying
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2012 Comment (2)Many employers significantly underestimate the amount they are paying for 401(k) fees. The Government Accountability Office recently asked 1,000 401(k) plan sponsors how much they pay in fees, and then compared the data they provided to publicly available filings, investment fund prospectuses, and fee reports generated by BrightScope, a firm that tracks and rates 401(k) plans, to see how much they actually paid in fees. Many companies didn’t know or significantly underestimated the amount that is deducted from employee retirement accounts to pay fees.
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Why Older Workers Can’t Get Hired
Tweet Share on Facebook May 18, 2012 Comment (22)Older worker unemployment has increased dramatically since the recession. The unemployment rate for workers age 55 and older increased from 3.1 percent in December 2007 to a high of 7.6 percent in February 2010, before dropping to 6 percent in December 2011.
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Fidelity: Couples Need $240,000 for Retirement Health Costs
Tweet Share on Facebook May 10, 2012 Comment (4)A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to pay for medical costs throughout retirement, according to a new study by Fidelity Investments. This estimate is up 4 percent from the 2011 estimate of $230,000, but still below the 2010 estimate of $250,000.
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The New Ideal Retirement Age: 67
Tweet Share on Facebook May 8, 2012 Comment (10)The age the typical worker expects to retire is no longer 65. For the first time this year, Americans expect to retire at an average age of 67, up from 66 in 2011, according to a recent Gallup poll of 1,016 adults. The average expected retirement age and been gradually increasing over the past seventeen years from age 60 in 1995 to 64 in 2005.
