The new issue of The Next Economy — published by the National Journal and The Atlantic – focuses on eight of the predicaments America faces in trying to regain its economic strength. The issue considers challenges in innovation, jobs, health care, entitlement spending and higher education; I contributed a short piece on how retirement security [...] [...more]
Is California about to set the country’s retirement saving system on its ear? The state has often set trends for the country in areas ranging from the environment to food and popular culture. Now, California is moving toward launching an innovative new approach to retirement saving that addresses two key problems facing Americans: the lack [...] [...more]
When Frank Marroquin retired last year, he expected to live on his monthly $1,660 Social Security check, but then he remembered he was eligible for a pension from a former employer. The 66-year-old Marroquin worked at MCC Powers from 1969 to 1982 and lost track of the company after it went through several mergers and [...] [...more]
Remember the pension? Back in 1975, fully 88 percent of private sector workers covered in a workplace retirement plan had one. Now that number is closer to 30 percent. And unless you’re in the public sector, the only option for workplace retirement benefits is enrolling in your company’s 401(k)-type plan, which lays the responsibility for [...] [...more]
Are you going to retire in poverty? Today’s seniors are more affluent than the general population. But the generations that follow them – starting with the baby boom generation – will not be as fortunate. The decline of pensions, the erosion of Social Security and the housing crash all are pointing toward a new crisis [...] [...more]
