Retirement planning

As tax season gets into full swing many investors are taking a closer look to determine whether a Roth IRA conversion is right for them.

Americans need to resume saving and planning if they want to retire comfortably.

BrightScope, a 401(k) ratings and analytics firm, has formed a partnership with Acceleration Retirement, a provider of practice management, marketing and lead generation services for retirement plan advisers—to offer a complete end-to-end prospecting and client acquisition solution.

The reasons to buy long-term care insurance aren’t new. What is new, though, is who boomer clients are buying such insurance for: their parents.

While sales of variable annuities declined 18% to $127 billion last year, guaranteed living benefits remained popular, with 84% of policyholders electing to buy those riders in the fourth quarter, according to LIMRA.

As the market has, indeed, rebounded nicely, Congress is likely to reinstate the RMDs this year, experts say.

AXA Equitable uncovered a dismal outlook for the economy and retirement in "Retirement in America: A Survey of Concerns and Expectations," in which it polled both investors and economists and found a large percentage of both groups bearish on the economy and the stock and bond markets.

America has yet to witness the tremendous societal transformation retiring Boomers will have, as the oldest is a mere 64 and the youngest, 46. But we are beginning to see signs of the tsunami-sized impact this army of 77 million will have on the workplace, the economy, healthcare and even the arts and entertainment.

America has yet to witness the tremendous societal transformation retiring Boomers will have, as the oldest is a mere 64 and the youngest, 46. But we are beginning to see signs of the tsunami-sized impact this army of 77 million will have on the workplace, the economy, healthcare and even the arts and entertainment.

Amid encouraging news, two “lost years” weigh heavily on participants near retirement.

America has yet to witness the tremendous societal transformation retiring Boomers will have, as the oldest is a mere 64 and the youngest, 46. But we are beginning to see signs of the tsunami-sized impact this 77 million-strong army will have on the workplace, the economy, healthcare and even the arts and entertainment.

To attract assets and customers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has introduced a tool to help employers score how well employees are doing at saving for retirement.

A troubling 72% of workers age 60 or older are putting off retirement because they say they don’t have enough funds, according to a survey of 700 people that Harris Interactive conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder.

Aging is the worst part about retirement - unless you consider the rising costs of healthcare eating into your nest egg.

Financial advisers are looking forward to 2010. In fact, 68% recently surveyed define their 2010 business mindset as one of acceleration and growth. Curian Capital LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Prudential, surveyed more than 1,800 independent financial advisers in an effort to gauge how the market downturn impacted their practices during 2009, and determine how it will shape their priorities for the year ahead.

When people are afraid, they cut back on discretionary expenses, which is how most people view estate-planning services, one expert said.

Advisors believe many Americans could need double or triple their savings targets.

Bruce Ferris, senior vice president of sales and distribution for Prudential Annuities, he has heard all the objections from wholesalers and advisers concerning variable annuities.

Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the Middle Class Task Force's new report on the middle class Friday, in which he outlined plans to offer automatic Individual Retirement Accounts to most Americans, provided clarification for giving advice to plan participants, and offered a proposal to allow plans to provide guaranteed retirement income products.

The American Council of Life Insurers is taking issue with a proposal by the White House to tax the “non-earned” income — for advisers, this includes annuity income — of people making $200,000 or more per year at 2.9% to help pay for Medicare.