Chuck Yanikoski, President, RetirementWorks, Inc. has published 42 free, monthly Retirement Readiness reports. They are all well written and can be found at: http://www.retirementworks2.com/support.asp?id=newsletter. Chuck has, gratefully, given me permission to use material from his reports to supplement information in my blog. I have done so below using Chuck’s report number 42: The economy has [...]
When you terminate your employment from a company that has a defined benefit (“DB”) plan, you usually have an option to take a lump-sum payment or to leave the assets in the company’s plan and receive monthly payments for your lifetime (and your spouse.) More than 90% of employees opt for a lump-sum payout from [...]
New legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act ("MAP-21"), has provisions affecting defined benefit (“DB”) pension plans. Plan sponsors who want to terminate their DB plans want their plan assets to be about equal to their plan liabilities on a termination basis (e.g. insurance company annuity or PGC lump sum). This way [...]
Even more than money, family relationships are fundamental to a successful (i.e., enjoyable, fulfilling) retirement. Think about it: would you rather spend your older years pinching pennies but enjoying a great marriage, with loving and mutually supporting relationships with your children, frequent interactions with grandchildren, and happy connections with extended family – or would you [...]
Most companies want to see a predictable and stable retirement of their older employees in order to facilitate growth opportunities for younger and more technologically advanced employees. That is one of the main reasons why companies sponsor 401(k) plans. But, based on the findings below, this is not going to happen. If employees can't afford [...]
Without a defined benefit pension plan (DB plan) employers don’t have control over the timing of their employee’s retirements. Older employees may not be able to afford to retire, will remain on the payroll and may never retire. If they don’t save enough to retire, they can block upward mobility and not allow employers to [...]
Well, if the stock market caught you off guard again … “fool me once, shame on you! But, fool me twice, shame on me!” Do your company and your employees want to continue on a stock market roller coaster? What do you think will happen to the stock market if, for example, Israel strikes Iran [...]
Our retirement system is failing too many Americans and government needs to step up to the plate to provide meaningful legislation which will help facilitate retirement. Employers, workers, and the government should share the responsibility for the retirement security for all Americans. Here are the top 5 areas that I believe our government should focus [...]
The bad news is that, unless you have a defined benefit pension plan or you die young, you will likely not have sufficient retirement assets to last for your lifetime. Americans are not saving nearly enough for retirement. Let’s assume that you will have an investment return of 4% after retirement and want to retire [...]
A new Society of Actuaries study “The 2011 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey” reveals growing concern of risks among retirees but little change in their retirement planning. The retirement risks that most concern both retirees and pre-retirees are: • Keeping the value of their savings and investments up with inflation (69 percent of retirees, [...]