Retirement planning

You've probably heard it's best to wait until age 70 to file for Social Security benefits, if possible. But do you know when it's advisable to wait even longer?

Social Security has major long-term issues to solve, but until then it's still a critical source of retirement income for clients.

Newport Beach, California, where four ranking lifeguards earned more than the town’s $109,677 median household income in 2012, may partially disband its municipal ocean rescue to deal with rising pension costs.

The state, which shoulders one of the biggest pension burdens, is bucking the wave of local governments trimming the benefits.

The move is part of a shift of emphasis from life insurance "to a more well-rounded protection and retirement planning approach."

Joseph Dear, chief investment officer of California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension plan, is taking leave to continue personal health treatments.

Commentary: Of the five economic proposals Jesse Myerson lists in Rolling Stone, one stands out, though not in a positive sense: that the U.S. start a sovereign wealth fund. It's a proposal that would prove problematic for capital markets, pose thorny conflicts of interest, and offer vast opportunities for cronyism and graft.

The big Dutch financial-services company will post a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) charge after agreeing to end some payment obligations to its pension fund in the Netherlands.

Quick question: Do you know how many programs operate under the Social Security umbrella? Do you know the differences? If not, keep reading.

Concern about rate policy shifts is the factor most likely to drive changes to client retirement income portfolios in 2014, according to a new survey from GDC Research and Practical Perspectives.

Boeing Co.’s long-term production plans for its new 777X aircraft and three other jets are at stake in a showdown with its largest union that pits worker pensions against the planemaker’s appetite for risk.

The Illinois State Employees Association Retirees sued state officials and retirement systems to block a plan that reduces pension benefits to fix a $100 billion shortfall.

Companies that stuck by their defined-benefit pension plans through the difficult years appear unlikely to seek to disband the benefit. One exception, however, is Boeing, which wants to convert its pension plan to a 401(k)-style retirement program.

Most working-age people in the U.S. and worldwide who expect an inheritance think it will fund all or part of their retirement.

Advisors need to coax their clients to start a dialogue now.

Some of your underlying assumptions may be totally wrong. Here are a few fresh ideas to consider.

My wife and I have just one grandchild from one of our two sons (with no current plans for a second). The other son and wife are trying but no luck yet.

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s plan to pump $1 billion of New York’s $144 billion in pension assets into apartments for poor and working-class residents faces constraints including competition from banks and declining federal aid.

The Puerto Rico legislature’s move to keep the commonwealth’s teacher pension from running out of cash by freezing benefits and raising worker contributions shows how U.S. municipalities are addressing a $1 trillion retirement- funding deficit by reining in once-ironclad promises.