Retirement planning

Advisors take note: It’s not a company’s size but rather the demographic makeup of its workforce that influences whether it sponsors a retirement plan.

Lincoln Financial Group has introduced Lincoln Alliance, a mutual fund retirement solution designed for small-to-mid-sized retirement plans with assets of $2 million or more.

Be they young or be they old, people across America are worried about their financial prospects in retirement and the economic direction of the nation, according to a survey of Gen X, Gen Y and Baby Boomers by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

Seventy-five percent of U.S. companies that suspended their 401(k) matching contributions between January 2008 and January 2010 have restored the retirement savings perk in the past year, according to an analysis by professional services firm Towers Watson.

Be they young or be they old, people across America are worried about their financial prospects in retirement and the economic direction of the nation, a survey of Gen X, Gen Y and Baby Boomers by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America found.

Mercer’s U.S. outsourcing business has begun including retirement income from Financial Engines in its defined contribution platform. Financial Engines says its Financial Engines Income+ is the first retirement income solution designed specifically for 401(k) plans.

U.S. households held $10.7 trillion in retirement assets at the end of 2010, according to a pair of retirement industry analysts who culled information from the Federal Reserve’s Flow of Funds report and U.S. Census data. This is just above the previous high of $10.5 trillion reached in 2007, and a big climb from the $2.4 trillion loss in retirement assets in the crash of 2008, when these assets fell to $8.1 trillion.

Mercer’s U.S. outsourcing business has begun including retirement income from Financial Engines in its defined contribution platform. Financial Engines says its Financial Engines Income+ is the first retirement income solution designed specifically for 401(k) plans.

U.S. households held $10.7 trillion in retirement assets at the end of 2010, Hearts & Wallets said, culling information from the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds and U.S. Census data. This is just above the previous high of $10.5 trillion reached in 2007, and a big climb from the $2.4 trillion loss in retirement assets in the crash of 2008, when these assets fell to $8.1 trillion.

Prudential has just released preliminary survey results indicating that when shopping for retirement plans, consumers between the ages of 18 and 36 are more interested than those over age 45 in guaranteed income features. The company is leveraging these results with additional features, including security, to certain plans offered by Prudential Retirement.

About a week ago, Prudential released preliminary survey results indicating that when shopping for retirement plans, consumers between the ages of 18 and 36 were more interested than those over age 45 in guaranteed income features. The company is leveraging these results with additional features, including security, to certain plans offered by Prudential Retirement.

Vanguard has filed with the SEC to offer the Vanguard Target 2060 Retirement Fund for those currently 18 to 20 years old, and early next year will merge the Vanguard Target Retirement 2005 Fund and the Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund, as their allocations have become nearly identical.

Announcing changes that will likely affect wealth managers helping clients with tax planning, the IRS said that many tax benefits for the 2012 tax year will increase due to inflation adjustments. Investors will be able to contribute an additional $500 to their 401(k), for a total of $17,000 for those under 50 and $22,500 for those 50 or older.

Putnam Investments is addressing the need for customized retirement income withdrawal strategies through the launch of the Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Funds, a suite of three income-oriented mutual funds, and a Retirement Income Analysis Tool.

Putnam Investments is addressing the need for customized retirement income withdrawal strategies through the launch of the Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Funds, a suite of three income-oriented mutual funds, and a Retirement Income Analysis Tool.

American workers are becoming more and more pessimistic about their retirement prospects, according to a new survey by Sun Life Financial, but those who have invested in annuities or hold long-term care insurance are decidedly more confident.

This week is National Save for Retirement Week, and a variety of financial planning groups are promoting that fact to attract clients.

FINRA this week issued an investor alert urging the roughly 30% of American workers who are not contributing enough to their 401(k) plans to receive a full employer match to step up their contributions in order to meet their eventual retirement needs.

Vanguard said the small 401(k) plan service that it introduced last month for plans of up to $20 million in assets under management has been receiving a great deal of interest, particularly the platform’s concentration on low-cost index and target-date funds, and its “all-in” plan fees that include investment, recordkeeping and administration costs.

Great-West Retirement Services has launched a marketing campaign this week to participate in the National Save for Retirement Week. Dubbed “Celebrate Saving,” the campaign centers around e-mails, fliers, posters and a banner on its participant website that links to a “Celebrate Saving” microsite.