The economic downturn and mortgage crisis are turning a growing number of Americans into retirement account raiders. The number of Americans tapping into their 401(k) savings accounts to pay debts or to fund other immediate financial needs rose sharply last year. The situation worsened during the first quarter this year as the mortgage crisis heated up, [...] [read full article…]
The Bush Administration is proposing regulations to blunt inappropriately aggressive marketing of private Medicare insurance plans. The new rules would outlaw unsolicited visits and phone calls to beneficiaries and regulate commissions paid to sales agents. About 55 percent of Medicare recipients also subscribe to supplemental private plans such as Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans. Consumer [...] [read full article…]
File this under “thanks for nothing.” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt admits Medicare is heading toward an implosion, but admits it’s too late for the Bush Administration to do anything about it. Via Reuters: . . . the next administration will have to act to stop rising costs and get control of [...] [read full article…]
Ever feel like you’re on your own when it comes to planning for retirement? Over the last few decades, much of the responsibility-and risk-of on-the-job retirement investing has shifted to employees. Fewer workers have traditional defined benefit pensions. And while many employees still have defined contribution plans, such as matching 401(k) plans, they handle their own [...] [read full article…]
Do we really become more set in our ways as we age? Not according to a recent SecurePath by Transamerica survey. The C.U.R.E. Retirement Study (change, uncertainty, risk and retirement education) probed the attitudes of pre-retirees about how they deal with factors outside their control, such as the economy. The survey responses seem to contradict [...] [read full article…]
When the going gets tough, the older employees get going-often with a voluntary buyout package in tow. The economy is in its worst shape since the recession of 2001, and that has employers in the mood to cut jobs. Employers eliminated jobs at an accelerating rate through the first three months of the year, and the [...] [read full article…]
The income gender gap is well known. But did you know that the economic gap between men and women spills over into retirement?The largest segment of Americans living in poverty is elderly women. The gender gap in retirement income security is appallingly high, for several reasons. First, women earn about a third less than men make [...] [read full article…]
Americans’ confidence about their ability to retire comfortably has fallen sharply and stands at the lowest level in seven years, according to survey research released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The percentage of individuals highly confident about their retirement outlook dropped from 27 percent to 18 percent, according to EBRI. Other key findings: Health [...] [read full article…]
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With April 15 right around the corner, let’s talk about the more palatable of Franklin’s two certainties. Taxes don’t disappear in retirement-and they can be an important variable in determining your standard of living. Good planning helps, [...] [read full article…]
Most baby boomers don’t understand the basics of Medicare, according to a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Investment News reports that 66 percent of boomer respondents said they were “not very familiar” or “not at all familiar” with the plan’s options, such as Part B, which covers some medical costs, [...] [read full article…]
RetirementRevised.com is the companion website of Retire Smart, a column written by Mark Miller that appears in more than 30 newspapers each week. For millions of Baby Boomers, retirement is an opportunity for reinvention, rather than taking it easy. Mark is helping write the playbook for the new career and personal pursuits of a generation.
