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]
The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the 20th century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched [...] [...more]
Two of the country’s best-known life-planning authors will co-lead a workshop in Chicago aimed at helping people think through their second acts. Richard N. Bolles, author of the best-selling book, What Color Is Your Parachute? and Richard Leider, veteran author, speaker and pioneer in life-work planning, will lead the May 29 - 30 event. It’s [...] [...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]
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 [...] [...more]
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 [...] [...more]
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 [...] [...more]
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 [...] [...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]
More than half of Americans expect to outlive their money, according to a new Gallup Poll. As a result, 45 percent said they would delay retirement in order to boost savings. Most worried were adults in their prime working years–between the ages of 30 and 64. Older people (65 and above) were less likely to [...] [...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.
