mbeals

5/7/2014 - The Postrecession Financial Literacy of Americans Is Still Pitiful (National Journal)

The financial know-how of most Americans stinks, roughly five years after the global financial recession officially ended. The majority of people still can’t correctly answer five basic questions about interest rates, mortgages, bonds, inflation, and risk-taking. The financial crisis may have prompted discussions about the need to promote financial literacy, but just 14 percent of… Read more 5/7/2014 - The Postrecession Financial Literacy of Americans Is Still Pitiful (National Journal)

5/6/2014 - Most retirees fail to have an income plan (MarketWatch)

Fifty-two percent of retirees surveyed said they’re pulling money out of their retirement accounts simply “as the need arises,” according to the telephone survey of 1,206 adults aged 35 to 75, conducted for PNC, a financial-services firm. Read the full article at MarketWatch.

4/24/2014 - Obamacare will let Americans retire earlier (Vox)

If people can get health insurance without a job, they’re likelier to stop working. And that means Obamacare might encourage people to retire earlier, according to a new study. Read the full article at Vox.

4/23/2014 - How realistic is it to say you'll never retire? (CBS MoneyWatch)

Recent surveys show that more people are saying they plan to delay their retirement or might never retire. Is this realistic — or wishful thinking? Read the full article at CBS MoneyWatch.

4/22/2014 - Retirement Remains Americans' Top Financial Worry (Gallup)

A firm majority of Americans, 59%, are worried about not having enough money for retirement, surpassing eight other financial matters. A majority of Americans have reported being “very” or “moderately” worried about retirement savings every year since 2001, illustrating that saving for retirement disquiets Americans in both good and bad economic times. Read the full… Read more 4/22/2014 - Retirement Remains Americans' Top Financial Worry (Gallup)

4/16/2014 - Workforce aging as boomers stay on the job (BenefitsPro)

The Employee Benefit Research Institute has further quantified boomers’ role in the workforce by crunching data found in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. EBRI’s report, “Labor-force Participation Rates of the Population Ages 55 and Older, 2013,” reveals that more than 40 percent of today’s workers are age 55 or older. Additionally, participation has… Read more 4/16/2014 - Workforce aging as boomers stay on the job (BenefitsPro)

4/15/2014 - The Retirement Reality Gap (U.S. News & World Report)

The new post-Great Recession economy has taken its toll on retirees, as well as those of us looking forward to retirement in the near future. Unfortunately, there’s something of a reality gap between what today’s workers think about retirement and what actually happens in retirement. Here’s a look at the perceptions and the realities. Read… Read more 4/15/2014 - The Retirement Reality Gap (U.S. News & World Report)

4/15/2014 - Time to raise - or scrap - the Social Security payroll tax cap (Reuters)

It’s Tax Day, and a small number of wealthy Americans have something to celebrate: They are done paying Social Security taxes for the year. The payroll tax that funds Social Security is levied only on a certain amount of income. This year it’s capped at $117,000. That means most wage earners will pay 6.2 percent… Read more 4/15/2014 - Time to raise - or scrap - the Social Security payroll tax cap (Reuters)

4/10/2014 - Out of work and under 65? Here's how to retool your retirement plan (Reuters)

We reached a milestone last week when the government reported that the U.S. economy has regained all the jobs lost during the Great Recession. Yet for many older workers the recession never ended; long-term joblessness has morphed into de facto premature retirement. Now, millions are performing financial triage on retirement plans that had been based… Read more 4/10/2014 - Out of work and under 65? Here's how to retool your retirement plan (Reuters)

4/9/2014 - One way to pay for health-care costs in retirement (Washington Post)

A recent MarketWatch analysis found that most retirees will spend an average of $250,000 on out-of-pocket health costs during their retirement years, an amount that can quickly cut into their savings. Health savings accounts (HSAs) offer consumers a way to save for these costs now and into retirement years. Read the full article at The… Read more 4/9/2014 - One way to pay for health-care costs in retirement (Washington Post)