Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Clients are advised to "auto-pilot" their retirement savings to ensure they will have enough funds to cover their needs in their golden years, according to Forbes. Such a strategy is possible if they participate in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, hold an individual retirement account or a business plan. – Forbes
Clients may experience an increase in spending after they retire because their medical expenses are likely to rise, according to the Motley Fool. Retirement expenses also could be higher than expected because real estate taxes and home maintenance costs could increase in the future. Entertainment and recreation expenses are very likely to go up in retirement as retirees can get bored with plenty of idle time in their hands. – Motley Fool
The U.S. government debt should not be a concern for retirement savers since it won't hurt their prospects in their golden years, according to MarketWatch. The country's huge debt will have no bearing on people's retirement because the debt-to-GDP ratio is insignificant, while the debt burden is manageable in U.S. context. Also, non-U.S. entities own only 34% of the total debt and the federal government can roll and monetize this debt. – MarketWatch
A survey by GoBankingRates found that 33% of respondents claimed they had an empty nest egg, with 23% saying they only had less than $10,000 in retirement savings, according to this article on Money. The lack of retirement savings can be attributed to a lack of education on the need to set aside money for the future, an expert says. “Americans might also be feeling as though their employer match ― or lack of ― is not enough to make it worth it to open an account, as well the growing trend of changing jobs every couple years and not wanting to deal with rolling over funds from one account to another.” -- Money
People should understand that the realities surrounding retirement are changing, according to this article on Yahoo Finance. For one, life expectancy is on the rise, while more people are becoming more fit and healthier. Also, more seniors are leading a more active lifestyle and working past their retirement age as employers are becoming more open to hiring older workers because of their experience and expertise. – Yahoo Finance
Many retirees are buying longevity annuity products as they are increasingly concerned about the impact of volatile markets in their investment portfolios, according to CNBC. While the annuity is a good tool to guarantee income in retirement, prospective buyers have certain considerations to make, such as fees and other costs, an expert says. "There are some providers that offer lower-cost versions of variable annuities, but in general the marketplace has a lot of high-expense products that aren't in people's best interest to use." -- CNBC
The Obama administration's proposal to impose fiduciary standard on financial advisors who provide retirement guidance to their clients is "commonsensical," according to this Washington Post editorial. "If you’re in business to advise small investors, it should be as clear as possible that you work for them and not a third party behind the scenes," the editorial reads. "[T]he fiduciary rule might shrink the business, but what remains could well enjoy greater legitimacy, in both reality and perception. In this time of raging populism, the financial industry needs all the trustworthiness it can get." – Washington Post
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