“It’s nothing less than a war they’re waging on retirement – and it’s going to cost you,” cautions the author of today’s article in regards to the shelving of the Department of Labor’s “Best Interest” rule, which aims to protect retirement savers and their nest eggs from shifty agents and unnecessary fees (to the tune of $17 billion) by requiring…
“Defined contribution plans like 401(k) accounts are great at helping employees save for retirement, but they provide no guarantee of income as pensions do,” notes the author of today’s article. While private sector pension plans have largely disappeared, the author highlights a pension-style retirement product that offers guaranteed lifetime income, but which only recently has entered the mainstream of retirement…
With 401(k) account balances rising, more employees are wondering how they can get their hands on that money. However, whether it’s from borrowing from their 401(k)s or pulling the money out when they leave jobs, the result is one of the biggest threats to Americans’ retirement savings: leakage. Today’s article notes that, according to one analysis, such leakage “threatens to…
“If you want to have an income-rich retirement, you’ve got to have a diversified basket of dividend stocks that will deliver both capital appreciation and income growth,” states the author of today’s article – and this assertion is backed up by a study that looked at the returns of S&P 500 stocks over a 33-year period. The author proceeds to…
“When it comes to important life transitions like retirement, perspective, judgment and objectivity are vital to prevent mistakes that can lead to disaster,” asserts the author of today’s article. The problem? Too many people forego the aforementioned in favor of overly simplistic (and overly optimistic) “back-of-the-envelope” planning. What are some critical steps many people fail to take – and important…
The statistics outlined in today’s article regarding baby boomers and retirement aren’t all disconcerting, but most of them are (90% to be exact!). Nonetheless, the author believes these are facts that boomers planning on retiring in the not-so-distant future need to be aware of. What “pretty scary” amount does the average boomer have saved for retirement? What percentage of 65-year-olds…
Are you unknowingly passing up a tax credit from Uncle Sam that could help you pad your retirement account? Today’s article highlights a special tax break aimed at helping those with modest income save for retirement, but one expert cited notes that “only an estimated one out of four people who could get money from the credit are getting it….”…
According to a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, almost half of retirees end up leaving the workforce earlier than they had planned – and while this is often involuntary (the result of a layoff or illness), in a third of cases individuals make an early exit by choice, having achieved financial independence. Achieving early retirement is not…
In this case a race to the bottom is a good thing: In an effort to attract new customers and increase market share in an extremely competitive business, mutual fund companies are battling it out for who can offer the lowest-cost ETF – and the resultant rock-bottom fees are great news for retirement savers. The author of today’s article highlights…
The oft-cited figure for how much you need to build up in your nest egg in order to retire comfortably is $1 million – with some experts advocating a $2 million target! However, the author of today’s article believes that, “while that theory might seem reasonable on paper, in practice, it leaves a lot to be desired” – and he…