Retirement planning

A perfect storm of eroding Social Security trust funds, high unemployment and a flood of Baby Boomers all hitting retirement age at the same time will put enormous strain on Social Security for the next two decades, forcing retirees and their advisers to come up with alternative retirement income plans and strategies to make ends meet.

A perfect storm combination of eroding social security trust funds, high unemployment and a flood of Baby Boomers all hitting retirement age at the same time will put enormous strain on the system for the next two decades and result force retirees and their advisors to come up with alternative retirement income plans and strategies to make ends meet.

Because seniors are living longer, they are more concerned than ever about inflation, interest rates and rising healthcare costs, a survey by the Society of Actuaries found.

Unless automatic enrollment in 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans becomes universal and savings deferral rates increase substantially, people are going to have significant shortfalls in their retirement nest eggs.

Nearly 150 hand-picked and already highly successful Bank of America Merrill Lynch financial advisors next month will embark on what amounts to retirement training boot camp at The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) in pursuit of a Certified 401(k) Professional designation to further their defined-contributions expertise and differentiate themselves from other DC practitioners.

The previous minimum was $3,000 for eleven of the twelve funds in the series.

The new balance represents an increase of almost 12% from a year ago, and a 58% jump from the same period in 2009.

With the ongoing probes as to how the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act could affect the financial marketplace, Riverside Risk Advisors executives are predicting new margin rules in the derivative sector will have significant impact on pension plan investment transactions.

At time when more Americans than ever are petrified they won't have enough set aside for retirement, a new LIMRA survey suggests that peace of mind could be just a phone call away.

This week, Ed dissects beneficiary designations and transfers from a 401(k) Roth.

At time when more Americans than ever are petrified they won't have enough set aside for retirement, a new LIMRA survey suggests that peace of mind could be just a phone call away.

With more and more pension plans exiting their domestic equity commitments for a sustainable crutch, plan sponsors stated in a new study that many are looking to long-duration bond vehicles to backup their liability needs.

ICI released its findings on data from more than 23 defined contribution accounts.

A pension expert panned federal lawmakers’ efforts to increase oversight of state and local governments’ public pension plans.

Nearly one in five Americans, 19%, have drawn on their retirement savings in the past year to cover emergencies, a survey of 1,004 adults by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for Bankrate in early April found.

It was widely hoped that at least one silver lining in the recession of December 2007 through June 2009 would be chastened investors with a newfound respect for living within their means, saving and preparing for retirement.

In today's turbulent market, more advisors are moving to tactical-asset management strategies to manage volatility.

Worries about the future of Social Security and of Medicare, as well as the experience of the last market crash in 2008-9 and the housing slump, have left an increasing number of Americans worried about whether they will have adequate resources to provide for their retirement years, and are making them more open to financial advice.That’s one finding from the latest annual Survey of Worker Attitudes Towards Retirement Savings Needs conducted by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI).

Worries about the future of Social Security and of Medicare, as well as the experience of the last market crash and the housing slump, have left an increasing number of Americans worried about whether they will have adequate resources to provide for their retirement years, and are making them more open to financial advice.

With tax season behind us, advisors are looking for answers regarding IRAs and Ed Slott has some regarding rollovers and conversions, the step transaction doctrine, and Gold IRAs.