Category: Financial Landing 2014

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)

4/14/2014 - It's not your fault you aren't saving for retirement (MarketWatch)

It’s time we stop kidding ourselves. Experiments to improve retirement savings decisions using what experts call “soft paternalism” aren’t working and it’s time to fix the system. Or at least so argues Jacob Hale Russell, an academic fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School. Read the full article at MarketWatch.

4/12/2014 - Thought Secure, Pooled Pensions Teeter and Fall (New York Times)

The pensions of millions of Americans are being threatened because of trouble in a part of the retirement world long considered so safe that no one gave it a second thought. The pensions belong to people in multiemployer plans — big pooled investment funds with many sponsoring companies and a union. Multiemployer pensions are not… Read more 4/12/2014 - Thought Secure, Pooled Pensions Teeter and Fall (New York Times)

4/12/2014 - High fees eroding many retirement accounts (CNBC)

It’s the silent enemy in our retirement accounts: High fees. And now a new study finds that the typical 401(k) fees — adding up to a modest-sounding 1 percent a year — would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options. To compensate for the higher fees, someone… Read more 4/12/2014 - High fees eroding many retirement accounts (CNBC)

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)

4/8/2014 - More people are delaying Social Security benefits (CBS Money Watch)

It looks like people are now paying attention to the plethora of advice retirement analysts and writers — including me — have been offering about delaying Social Security benefits as a means of improving retirement security. The Social Security Administration’s Annual Statistical Supplement for 2013 provides evidence of a slow but steady increase since 2004-2005… Read more 4/8/2014 - More people are delaying Social Security benefits (CBS Money Watch)

4/8/2014 - More retirees keep one foot in workforce (CNBC)

Seniors today may well enjoy rounds of golf and water aerobics when they retire. But chances are, they fit it in when they’re off the clock. Whether motivated by mental stimulation or cold, hard cash, millions of Americans age 65 and older are keeping one foot in the workforce long after they leave their full-time… Read more 4/8/2014 - More retirees keep one foot in workforce (CNBC)

4/6/2014 - The Smart Way to Tap Investment Accounts in Retirement (Wall Street Journal)

If you are like many Americans, you have a variety of investment and retirement accounts. When it comes time to live on that money, how do you decide which ones to tap first? The goal is to maximize your ability to generate income throughout retirement while keeping your tax burden low. That may not be… Read more 4/6/2014 - The Smart Way to Tap Investment Accounts in Retirement (Wall Street Journal)

4/4/2014 - Going Back to School, Without the Pressure (New York Times)

Arlene and Larry Dunn, both music aficionados, had always been fans of two ensembles at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. So, the Dunns put the retirement community Kendal at Oberlin on the top of their list after they began looking for a new home. In addition to having a rich cultural life, the Dunns… Read more 4/4/2014 - Going Back to School, Without the Pressure (New York Times)