Retirement planning

American workers exited 2010 with more than $10.2 trillion invested in employer-sponsored retirement plans, up 10% from the $9.3 trillion in play at the close of 2009, according to a new report from Chicago-based affluent investor consultant Spectrem Group.

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. has created a variable annuity portfolio construction tool for advisers. It guides them in selecting sub-accounts for each client, thereby customizing retirement income solutions.

The market for retirement income products is expanding, according to a new report from Financial Research Corp., “Cracking the Code to Retirement Income: Key Developments and Opportunities.”

The new offering will integrate absolute return funds that seek positive returns over a three-year period with less volatility than traditional asset classes.

Putnam Investments by midyear is planning to roll out three retirement income funds specifically designed for defined contribution plans, IRAs and other retirement accounts. The funds will be offered in conjunction with a planning tool to help both advisers and investors create a range of personalized income strategies.

People are living longer, working to an older age and largely underestimating how much money they'll really need to afford the retirement they've always envisioned.

This is according to a survey of nearly 24 large financial firms by Hearts & Wallets.

htretirement services unit is generating significant new business, much of it from existing clients of the bank.

Large asset managers are beginning to focus more on providing retirement income solutions, according to survey by Hearts & Wallets of nearly two dozed large, multifaceted firms with more than $10 trillion in assets under administration.

Americans are not very confident at all that they will be able to retire, a Country Financial survey of 3,000 Americans finds.

Despite all the dire warnings from financial advisors, relatives and the federal government, most Americans still aren't saving anywhere near enough money to afford the dignified retirement they all claim is so important to them and, worse, most don't even have any idea exactly how much they'll need even if they were to begin saving today for their golden years.

Americans are not very confident at all that they will be able to retire, a Country Financial survey of 3,000 Americans finds.

Even three years can increase income by 38%

Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to companies large and small are learning that attention to detail, an improved communication with plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates.

Every few years we begin to see headlines proclaiming the latest “New Retirement.” I have to admit there have been so many versions over the past 20 years that I sometimes get confused as whether they’re talking about the “new retirement,” the “new, new retirement,” or the “newest, new retirement.”

According to PIMCO, consultants said that active management makes the most sense for all asset classes, except large-cap U.S. equities.

Being financially prepared for retirement consistently ranks at or near the top of investors' lists of priorities regardless of their age, ethnicity, income level or gender. But this basic albeit mundane goal was largely forgotten by fund managers, financial advisors and even investors themselves in the past decade as cheap loans and skyrocketing home prices distracted many from the big picture.

Although 2010 was generally a good year for retirement plan investors, with average balances returning to pre-recession levels, MassMutual found in a survey of 1,517 participants, women appeared to become far more cautious investors—with gap in confidence between women and men widening.

The recession rocked women’s confidence in their investment decisions, according to a survey released Thursday by MassMutual.

An “onerous regulatory environment” and funding volatility have been the reasons why many private sector companies have shied away from providing pensions to their employees, new research states.