July 2022
25Jul

This Is the Average Retirement Age in the U.S. — and Why It’s a Problem

Americans may be retiring too early for their own good. Many people aim to retire in their mid- to late 60s. But the average retirement age in the U.S. is considerably younger than that. According to recent Gallup data, the average reported retirement age is 61. Now on the one hand, that's up from age 57 back in 1991. But it's also a pretty young age to retire at. And those who go that route could end up struggling financially because...

July 25, 2022
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22Jul

US. Pension unfunded liabilities rising with market volatility

The markets giveth and the markets taketh away. Unfunded liabilities for state pension funds are expected to climb from $783 billion in 2021 to $1.3 trillion in 2022. The funded ratio of state pensions would fall from 85% last year to 75% in 2022. That’s according to the Reason Foundation, which states that after the market expansion of 2021 helped pensions; the rather lackluster performance of markets this year could see an average rate of return for state pensions at...

July 22, 2022
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22Jul

New Evidence on the Demand for Advice within Retirement Plans

By Jonathan Reuter & David P. Richardson. We study demand for advice within defined contribution retirement plans offered by 23 institutions where TIAA is sole recordkeeper. Advice seeking increases with age, account balance, annual contribution level, web access, and changes in marital status. More provocatively, participants who invest solely through target date funds—the dominant default investment option—are significantly less likely to seek any form of advice throughout the age distribution, raising the possibility that reliance upon defaults crowds out advice...

July 22, 2022
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21Jul

US. Here’s How Badly the Market Crash Has Hurt Pension Funds

Public pension plans in the U.S. saw significant losses in 2022 as interest rates rose and stock markets tanked. In its annual state of pensions report, Equable Institute, a non-profit that provides public pension research and information, found that in the fiscal year ending in June 2022, the aggregate funded ratio of statewide and municipal public pensions plans dropped by 6.9 percentage points — a loss of about half of 2021’s gains. In fact, the report said this drop is...

July 21, 2022
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20Jul

FedEx to deliver $800 million to U.S. pension plans in fiscal year 2023

FedEx Corp., Memphis, Tenn., plans to make $800 million in voluntary contributions to its U.S. pension plans during its fiscal year ending May 31, 2023. The shipping company disclosed the contribution in its 10-K filing with the SEC on Monday. The injection of cash into the plans will come despite the lack of minimum required contributions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In the most recent fiscal year ended May 31, FedEx contributed $533 million to the plans. FedEx...

July 20, 2022
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20Jul

Study shows people in the U.S. are not planning for future healthcare needs

If you haven’t spent time considering what your healthcare needs will be in the years or even decades from now, you’re not alone. Recent research suggests that many aging Americans aren’t aware of the full range of options available to them. As we age, our healthcare needs intensify, and experts say that the U.S. healthcare system will need to embrace home healthcare options to meet the demand of an aging population. The new national survey, titled “Aging in Place: Assessing Senior’s...

July 20, 2022
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18Jul

US. Managers still looking for opportunities with rising inflation, market fluctuations

Money managers are largely in agreement that inflation, volatility and further market drops are all likely to be in the cards for investors the rest of the year. But that doesn't mean there are not investment opportunities to be found. Equity markets could take a further hit, giving investors the opportunity to find some bargains, but bond strategies could be due for a reversal. Christopher C. Newman, head of Americas division for T. Rowe Price Group, said in an interview that...

July 18, 2022
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15Jul

Seven Economic Facts About the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap

By Kristen Broady, Darlene Booth-Bell & Taylor Griffin Using data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances and the U.S. Census Bureau, along with data and research from other sources, this paper presents seven economic facts about the racial wealth gap in the U.S. We present data on racial disparities in income, employment, homeownership, education, access to credit, and retirement savings – all factors that contribute to a significant and persistent gap in net worth between households of different races...

July 15, 2022
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15Jul

The market meltdown threatening pensions for millions in the U.S.

American public pension funds are facing serious challenges that threaten the retirement plans for millions of US state and local government employees. Pension plans remained severely underfunded during the 11-year bull market that followed the Great Recession. The plunge toward insolvency and high-return markets led fund managers to take on risky bets in hope of staying afloat. Now, the recent selloff has left funds struggling to keep up with their future obligations. The 100 largest public pension funds in the United...

July 15, 2022
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14Jul

US. Biggest Investor Worries Are Inflation and Recession Risk

Top retirement income concerns for investors are inflation and recession anxiety, a new report reveals. The Alliance for Lifetime Income and CANNEX research from the “Protected Retirement Income and Planning Study” found that four out of five U.S. workers age 45 to 75 cited concerns that high inflation will reduce their spending power in retirement (81%) and that a recession will drive the economy downward and may reduce the amount of retirement income they can expect (79%). Retirement income anxiety is...

July 14, 2022
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