Retirement benefits

Fund management firm Philam Asset Management Inc. (PAMI), a division of American International Group, is now offering investors a Personal Investment Program (PIP), aimed at offering investors an affordable savings plan for their future.

TIAA-CREF’s ads for its Individual Retirement Accounts inferred that government and military employees who contributed to their Thrift Savings Plan were up against a time clock because the TSPs “retire.” Fidelity’s ads simply call the TSP “old.” TIAA-CREF has pulled its ads, but Fidelity, claiming all of its communications go through legal review, is still running them.

Despite difficult market conditions, Americans continued to save more for retirement last year, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The Department of Labor on Tuesday proposed requiring 401(k) plan fiduciaries to supply investors with standard account summaries that will clearly state fees, expenses and any administrative costs such as legal, accounting and recordkeeping charges-in actual dollars. Plans will also have to provide performance figures and comparable benchmark returns, information on investment options and how to obtain more detailed information, including education and/or advice.

BOSTON - Excessive fees in some 401(k) plans are hurting the reputation of all 401(k) plans and shaking investor confidence in what most financial experts agree is a great way for the majority of Americans to save for retirement.

BOSTON - Workers love pension plans, but providing 20 to 30 years of benefits to a huge retired workforce can cripple most companies' profits.

It's bad enough that 40% of workers in their 20s and 30s cash out their 401(k)s when they switch jobs, even though taxes and penalties decimate the balances to almost half, according to a CMI survey of 1,200 people in January commissioned by Fidelity.

Investors alleging wrongdoing by their stockbrokers can choose to go to court or face an arbitration panel of three people, including one person from the brokerage industry and two from the public.

Despite difficult market conditions, Americans continued to save more for retirement last year, according to the Investment Company Institute.

In his last public appearance as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commissioner Paul Atkins said that, with regards to shareholder rights, the agency “would be wise to continue to respect the principles of federalism and avoid the temptation to exceed the limitations on its authority delegated by the Congress.”

To show workers the long-term impact of cashing out their 401(k) savings when they change jobs or retire, a firm that provides rollover services for plan sponsors now offers a free “Cash-Out Calculator.”

The Department of Labor on Tuesday proposed requiring 401(k) plan fiduciaries to supply investors with standard account summaries that will clearly state fees, expenses and any administrative costs such as legal, accounting and recordkeeping charges—in actual dollars; performance and comparable benchmark returns; investment options; and how to obtain more detailed information, including education and/or advice.

Barclays is planning to launch a family of target-date and target-risk exchange-traded funds, drawing from its existing iShares, Dow Jones reports. The percentage of equity holdings will range from 91% to 58%.

When the House of Representatives holds a hearing on the merits of 401(k) debit cards, and even Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, says tapping into that equity might be a “creative way to stimulate the economy”—you know they pose a serious threat to both the mutual fund industry and investors’ retirement.

The deadline for entries to Money Management Executive’s Sixth Annual Fund Operations Awards has been extended through Thursday, July 31, so you still have plenty of time to enter.

Bruce R. Bent, founder and chairman of Reserve Management Corp., defended his company’s debit cards linked to 401(k) plans Thursday by saying that they encourage employees to sign up for the retirement accounts and that they reduce the dollar amount of loans taken out against them.

Hard times, unemployment and medical emergencies are leading more and more workers to take loans from their 401(k) retirement plans.

The biggest mutual funds in the nation have lost more than an estimated $4 billion in the past week alone on their investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and related mortgage stocks, Reuters reports, based on analysts’ assessment of fund companies’ latest reports. In the past week, Fannie and Freddie declined 45.4% and 46.5%, respectively.

Financial experts seem to be in agreement that we are now in a bear market, but will that bad news shake investors’ traditional buy-and-hold strategy with 401(k)s – particularly older investors?

Following the rash of home equity loans that Americans regretfully took out over the past few years on their first or second mortgages – essentially turning their homes into ATM machines, as many a critic has quipped – their 401(k)s are now in danger of becoming the next get-cash-quick scheme, The Wall Street Journal reports.