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, [...] [...more]
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 [...] [...more]
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, [...] [...more]
Retirement plan administrators tell USA Today they’ve seen a sharp uptick in the number of desperate 401(k) account holders raiding their accounts to make mortgage payments and hold off foreclosures. This disturbing and sad development in the mortgage crisis suggests homeowners are being forced to sacrifice retirement income security to keep their homes; in so [...] [...more]
Americans saving for retirement aren’t letting the current tough economy deter them from saving more. That’s the conclusion of new survey research released today by Fidelity Investments. The survey shows that, among current Individual Retirement Account owners, 60 percent have contributed to their IRAs for 2007 or plan to do so. And 32 percent [...] [...more]
Have you checked in on your retirement savings lately? If you’re like most Americans, your investments probably are on autopilot most of the time. That could mean trouble heading into 2008—a year with an above-average risk of a portfolio-eroding economic recession. Regular monitoring of your 401(k) account or other retirement vehicles is important in any economic environment, [...] [...more]
Few economists are predicting recession for 2008, but most say the risk is higher than it’s been in some time. The key culprits include the plunge in housing values sparked by the sub prime lending crisis, high energy prices and slowing job growth. One of the best sources for economic cycle research is the Economic [...] [...more]
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.
