Talking Retirement

Talking About Saving

There are two sides to the current debate on Social Security (actually, there are more than just two sides). One camp says there is no crisis. On the opposite end, there are the doomsayers.

Regardless where you fall, I’ve felt for a long time there is a big hole in planning for retirement and that’s simply saving money for it. In today’s New York Times, there’s an article entitled Savings: Lots of Talk, but Few Dollars. Here’s an excerpt:

[A] big concern is that millions of aging baby boomers may not have stashed away enough for their retirements. Only about half of all workers participate in a pension plan with their current employer, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Less than one-quarter of workers are covered by a traditional defined-benefit retirement plan. And savings through individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans have been meager: in 2001, the average worker in the 55-to-64 age group had a balance of only $42,000.

Are you participating in your company’s savings plan? Are you maxing it out? Do you save on top of that? Reading this article might not give you the exact answer for what you should do, but it will probably give you some motivation to figure it out.

Click here to read the full article >>

American Retirement Increasingly Rides the Market.

It’s not just the federal government. States and companies alike are looking for ways to shift the burden of funding retirement. They’re doing it by moving away from pensions and toward 401(k) programs and other self-funded vehicles. This article from the Christian Science Monitor explains. 

New study: Seniors and the Poverty Threshold

After reading the summary of this study, Understanding Expenditure Patterns in Retirement, it served as another wake-up call when it comes to really planning for my own retirement (if you keep up with the news, these aren’t that hard to come by unfortunately). The study’s big shocker is that 20% of retired single seniors have incomes below the poverty threshold (click for definition). Only 3% of married retirees fall in that category. 
Read the study.

It’s the Law, You are Entitled to Your Credit Report.

A person’s credit report is owned by several different companies, which, until a law passed last year, you had to pay to see. Regardless of your financial state, you owe it to yourself to know what is in your report. Vist the government’s web site at the FTC’s website to get the full information you need.

Is Social Security Going Bankrupt? Some Perspective.

Washington is talking about reforming Social Security as we know it. As these discussions take place, people often refer to the system as being “bankrupt.” But is it, really? Here’s some perspective.

Read the full article.

Pension Agency Takes Over US Airways Workers’ Retirement Plans.

Concerned about whether your pension will be there when you retire? Many people are. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. insures pension funds, but the government agency is running a deficit. This article about US Airways workers’ pension funds tells the story.

Read the full article.