Month: January 2011
What would Americans do if the retirement age were increased?
Answer depends on your profession — certain jobs just harder to do.
New law allows you to track 401(k) fees
If you’ve tried to determine the fees and expenses of your 401(k) plan, you’ve most likely found that it’s a frustrating hunt. But that’s going to change when a new rule dictating the disclosure of fees takes effect.
United Space Alliance to terminate pension plans at year’s end
United Space Alliance will terminate all defined pension benefit plans as of the close of this plan year, the company announced to employees last Thursday in an internal memo.
Companies Pump Up Pension Plans
Big employers are stuffing bigger-than-needed contributions into their pension plans to head off troubles in the future and to cut their taxes at a time of ultra-low investment returns elsewhere.
New 401(k) disclosure rules will improve retirement plans
The 401(k) plan is a critical part of most workers’ financial future, but it comes with less information than a loaf of bread at the supermarket.
Retired and broke: Why retirees are declaring bankruptcy
For more and more seniors, retirement doesn’t mean a debt-free life of leisure. An increasing number of Americans aged 65 and older are declaring bankruptcy, according to a recent study by John Pottow, professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
Labor Department Rule Expands Adviser Responsibility for 401(k) Plans
The U.S. Department of Labor wants to expand accountability for employer-sponsored retirement plans to investment advisers.
U.S. Pension System Ranks Low
A new report comparing pension systems in 14 countries, ranks the U.S. a lowly 10th, behind the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Chile, Brazil and Singapore.
New retirees shortchanged: 6- to 12-month waits for full pension checks
Energy Department employees Karen and Lavelle Adams of Upper Marlboro, Md., retired in June. Since then, it’s been a nightmare.
Seniors, some nearing 80, continue working to make ends meet
As politicians argue about how to contend with Social Security’s projected shortfall, local seniors show how tight the system already is. And with last week’s announcement of a second year without cost-of-living adjustments, 2011 promises no relief.
Working Hard To Save For Retirement? Work Harder
Each year since 2006, Congress has declared the third week of October to be National Save for Retirement Week. But because of the weak economy and falling home prices, retirement experts say many Americans are in worse shape for retirement now than they were four years ago.
