Job-Hopping Millennials Lose Big on Savings: Retirement Scan

Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.

Job-hopping millennials are losing big on retirement savings
Twenty-five percent of workers lost a substantial amount of retirement savings last year because they resigned from their jobs and forfeited employer contributions to their 401(k) plans, according to an analysis by Fidelity. These workers had an average of $1,710 in the plan after they left, with 37% of millennials leaving behind 24% of their account balance when they resigned. This is because millennials stayed with an employer for a shorter period compared with their older counterparts, the analysis finds.  --CNN Money

Social Security and unpaid student loans: What the feds won't tell you
Some 155,000 retirees paid off their delinquent student loans using their Social Security benefits, based on a report from the Government Accountability Office. However, these retirees are not obliged to settle these loans if their retirement income is derived mostly from Social Security, according to this article on Forbes. Retirement benefits are not classified as an income under the government's income-based repayment plans for student loans.  --Forbes

Medicare is pricier in unhealthy states, study says
Contrary to what most people think, Medicare spending in several states is higher than others not because of wasteful treatment practices in delivering health care services, according to a research by Brookings Institution. Spending differs among states because of varying conditions in these places and the workers' ability to cover the treatments for the ailments caused by these conditions, according to the research. States with healthier workers require lower Medicare costs per capita compared with states with less-healthy population, the study finds.  
--Marketwatch

How the financial crisis put up two more barriers to a secure retirement
Research findings indicate that many people have yet to recover from the impact of the 2008 recession, according to this article on Time Money. The current housing stock cannot respond to older workers' requirements and poses a problem to them in terms of affordability, accessibility and other factors, according to a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Retirement prospects for middle-class workers look gloomy as their income and net worth remained nearly unchanged from 2010 to 2013, while there is a sharp decline in ownership of retirement plan accounts, according to a study by the Federal Reserve.  --Time Money

Personal finance: Does a Roth IRA affect a 401(k) plan?
Workers won't face a maximum combined contribution per year if they contribute to a Roth IRA and participate in their employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, says an expert at New York-based Ed Slott and Co. They can set aside $17,500 for their 401(k) plan as well as contribute as much as $5,500 to their Roth IRA if they comply with the Roth IRA contribution income-limit restrictions, the expert says. Clients who are 50 or older by year's end can have catch-up contributions that will enable them to put $23,000 into their 401(k) and contribute $6,500 into their Roth IRA.  --USA Today

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