Retirement planning

Although the market is improving in some places, the overall value of real estate owned by U.S. households fell to $17.65 trillion in 2012 from $22.7 trillion in 2006, according to the Federal Reserve. Much of that decline hit boomers the hardest, since most were in their peak earning years when the financial meltdown occurred and were living in the largest homes they would ever own. Financial planners now face a challenge: how to help clients chart a future that will meet their housing and health needs while preserving as much of their assets and capital as possible.

Although the market is improving in some places, the overall value of real estate owned by U.S. households fell to $17.65 trillion in 2012 from $22.7 trillion in 2006, according to the Federal Reserve. Much of that decline hit boomers the hardest, since most were in their peak earning years when the financial meltdown occurred and were living in the largest homes they would ever own. Financial planners now face a challenge: how to help clients chart a future that will meet their housing and health needs while preserving as much of their assets and capital as possible.

Wells Fargo has rolled out a website to help customers, and eventually non-customers, meet their retirement savings goals.

Retirement income experts have a new professional designation to brag about.

As a financial advisor to numerous types of clients, including recent retirees, I often think deeply about the issues my clients face in this market environment.

Pimco's 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF reported $204.1 million of inflows on April 8, the same day the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF recorded its second-biggest daily redemption since its inception more than five years ago, equal to about $378 million worth of shares, Bloomberg reports.

Northern Trust is touting the rapid growth of its’ defined contribution assets.

Ed Slott, Your IRA Expert, examines several questions surrounging Roth IRA and tax implications.

Several provisions affecting advisors contained in President Obama’s budget blueprint drew sharp reactions from many corners of the industry, with groups variously praising measures to increase funding for securities regulators and blasting provisions concerning taxes and retirement planning.

ING is embarking on a rebranding voyage. Following an initial public offering, the company will rebrand to Voya Financial.

A top executive with Fidelity urged congressional action to stave off what he described as "a looming retirement crisis," appealing to lawmakers to pressure the Department of Labor to avoid an expansive redefinition of fiduciary responsibilities for advisors, among other things.

“We have found that people in Gen Y not only said they are highly disciplined, they really are more highly disciplined than people in older generations,” Bill Taylor, vice president of financial planning at Northwestern Mutual, said in an interview. “It might be because they’ve seen their parents hurt badly when stocks fell in 2008, because of the decline of defined benefit plans, or just because young people have access to more information today.”

Putnam Investments has added three new DCIO Investment Specialists to bolster its sales effort in the 401(k) market.

Russell Investments has appointed Andrew Scherer as director of defined contribution, intermediary distribution for the firm’s U.S. advisor-sold business, which sells mutual funds and other multi-asset products to DC recordkeeping platforms, retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan advisors.

Delivering easily accessible, multimedia resources that are broken into small packages is key to engaging and educating individuals, according to new research.

Just 37% of baby boomers are confident in their financial preparations for retirement—and that number keeps falling.

Target-date funds have grown phenomenally in the past five years from virtually no assets in 2007 to about $1 trillion today.

Mutual fund shops take heed. PIMCO's 2013 Defined Contribution Consulting Support and Trends Survey sheds light on how consultants are helping their plan sponsor clients design their plans around target-date and retirement income products.

A bout of forgetfulness may be a classic sign of aging, or it could point to more serious health problems, such as Alzheimer’s.

Your IRA Expert answers the question of how the executor of a will can pay off debt with an inherited IRA.