Retirement planning

A retirement guide for women that the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement issued last week brought to light some startling facts.

A retirement guide for women that the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement issued last week brought to light some startling facts.

A small news item last week on the launch of a financial literacy course in the Shelby County school district in Tennessee this fall got me thinking about a golden opportunity for individual mutual fund companies or, perhaps, the industry as a whole.

A small news item last week on the launch of a financial literacy course in the Shelby County school district in Tennessee this fall got me thinking about a golden opportunity for individual mutual fund companies or, perhaps, the industry as a whole.

As the $144.5 billion playing field for target-date, or lifecycle, funds continues to get more and more crowded-last year fund companies introduced 302 target-date funds and assets soared 61%-the funds are diversifying their holdings to distinguish themselves. Others are extending their equity exposure with the goal of equipping longer-living retirees with enough money to last throughout their lifetimes.

As the $144.5 billion playing field for target-date, or lifecycle, funds continues to get more and more crowded-last year fund companies introduced 302 target-date funds and assets soared 61%-the funds are diversifying their holdings to distinguish themselves. Others are extending their equity exposure with the goal of equipping longer-living retirees with enough money to last throughout their lifetimes.

NEW YORK-When Alan Greenspan speaks, markets move and people listen. Usually.

The key to a successful marriage is communication, and planning for retirement is no exception. As it turns out, this is yet another bone of contention between husbands and wives.

Despite the warnings and the realization that many Americans know they need to save for retirement, 34% of workers are not doing anything about it, according to the 17th annual "Retirement Confidence Survey" by the Employee Benefit Research Institute of Washington.

Forget spending retirement in a rocking chair on the front porch.

Sagging U.S. and international equity markets are to blame for a 2% drop in retirement assets held in mutual funds last year, according to a report issued by the Investment Company Institute.

BOSTON - Increasingly, competing in the retirement market requires plan providers to offer more than products, according to industry executives. Providers need to market a variety of services to plan sponsors and their participants and provide guidance and information on issues that may not relate directly to investment products, executives said.

Most employees changing jobs would rather roll their 401(k) assets into another retirement investment rather than cash out of the plan, according to a recent survey released by American Century Investments of Kansas City, Mo.

The Social Security Administration has begun mailing retirement benefit statements to all working Americans - an event that is bound to unnerve individuals ill-prepared for retirement and create tremendous sales opportunities for mutual funds, according to industry executives.

The Domini Social Equity Fund reached the $1 billion in assets under management landmark, thanks largely to retirement plan growth. Thirty percent of the fund's net inflows have come through retirement plans over the past year, according to officials at Domini Social Investments of New York.

Scudder Defined Contribution Services, a division of Scudder Kemper Investments of Boston, has linked up with Financial Engines, an Internet-based advisory firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., to deliver advice to retirement plan participants.

A raft of Congressional legislation aimed at boosting savings for retirement by Americans has captured the interest of mutual fund companies who see the changes as a potential boon to their assets.

Automatic Data Processing of Roseland, N.J., has formed a new division to provide an array of retirement plan programs for mutual fund companies. The new division, ADP Retirement Services, will provide record-keeping and administration services to investment companies of all sizes, said Russ Fradin, president of ADP Employer Services for North America.

TIAA-CREF of New York, the $255 billion money manager, is taking steps to expand its new mutual fund business.

Nvest has begun providing its defined contribution wholesale customers with quarterly updates of fund holdings and returns for its 15 affiliates, data which up until now has not been available to plan sponsors, according to the company.