Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Social Security numbers can be bought for $1 each on the Dark Web, or the underground Internet, according to an account-monitoring firm. The Dark Web refers to places online that a majority of Internet users don't visit, and where illegal transactions such as deals involving pornography and drugs are made. Access to a person's PayPal can demand the highest price, which can be as much as $80 depending on the account's balance. –Fortune
Seniors may want to reconsider their decision to retire, as a new paper shows that the labor force will grow at a slower pace while the country can expect reduced productivity as more workers retire, according to this article on The Wall Street Journal. This should prompt measures aimed at revamping the private and public pension systems so workers are encouraged to retire at a later date. These measures may include "shifting benefits to favor later retirement and reducing tax penalties on earnings for those who are already collecting Social Security," the article concludes. –The Wall Street Journal
Keeping liquid assets or cash may not be a good idea, as it prevents people from growing their wealth, according to this article on MarketWatch. People who are sitting on big amounts of cash are at a bigger risk of loss compared with those holding other asset classes. The purchasing power of $1 million has dropped to about $236,000 over the past four decades as a result of inflation. –MarketWatch
As recommended by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research in a research brief, 401(k) participants should consider annuitizing a certain portion of their plan at retirement to ensure that they won't outlive their nest egg, according to this article on Money. However, this strategy may not be a good option for everybody, as people face different financial situations and retirement needs. Before buying an annuity product using retirement money, clients are advised to gain full understanding of annuities and ensure that the product they choose will help secure their retirement. –Money
Some 35,000 millennial workers who have been contributing to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans administered by Fidelity Investments for 10 years have posted an average balance of $92,900 in the second quarter, a 10% increase over the previous year, according to this article on Bloomberg. This means that this group deferred an average of 7.9% of their yearly income. Data also show that the average balance of all 401(k) participants who have been working for the same employer over the past 10 years rose 4.2%, to $241,300, during the same period. –Bloomberg
