August 2021

US. Climate Change and Benchmarking Risk for Retirement Plans

Institutional Investors Generally  don´t mine coal, make cement or indiscriminately strip large forests. But the companies in which they invest might be engaged in such activities that experts say will prove incompatible with the shift to a lower-carbon world. And, they add, a retirement plan’s holdings of these at-risk investments could have negative consequences for plan participants.   Plan Exposures Climate change risks can affect plans in several ways, says Therese Feng, vice president of research for The Climate Service, a climate...

¿Qué lecciones podemos aprender del ahorro para el retiro en los Estados Unidos?

El Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (SAR) de México es un sistema sólido y bien enfocado, que ofrece innumerables ventajas frente al anterior modelo de jubilación que se tenía en México. Tan es así que las Afores mexicanas recientemente fueron premiadas a nivel mundial por sus buenas estrategias de inversión, y las recientes reformas de 2019-2020 lo han fortalecido aún más. Sin embargo, es un modelo que sigue en constante evolución, por lo que vale la pena revisar...

US. Should the Federal Government ‘Green’ Its Pension Plan?

Climate change is posing an existential threat to more than just the planet. In fact, the federal government is concerned that weather-related risks will begin eroding the retirement portfolios of its employees. Read also US. Climate Change and Benchmarking Risk for Retirement Plans Earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that the board overseeing the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for federal workers analyze the financial performance of companies in its portfolio, in light of risks related to climate change...

How to fix the deeply flawed US Retirement Savings System

By Chris Farrell America’s retirement savings system is a mess (that’s a technical economic term). “System” is actually too grand a word for the ad hoc retirement savings plan edifice that has been built up over years. To be sure, the system works reasonably well for those on the payroll of an employer with a retirement benefit plan and a relatively stable job. Employees at larger companies typically have 401(k)s with automatic enrollment, automatic contribution increases and a target-date default option...

Financial Resilience in America August 2021

By Martha Deevy, Jialu Liu Streetern, Andrea Hasler & Annamaria Lusardi Data collected right before COVID-19 hit the United States in 2020 indicated deeply rooted financial insecurity: one in three American families wasn’t ready to cope with a mid-sized financial shock; about 27% couldn’t come up with $2,000 within a month if an unexpected need were to arise; and 33% found it difficult to make ends meet in a typical month (2020 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index [P-Fin Index], Yakoboski...

US. 3 Unexpected Sources of Retirement Income

When we think of retirement, most of us think of accumulating a large sum of money and then spending it down gradually. One of the best insurance policies to prevent spending all of your money is to have numerous sources of income in retirement. As you'll see, even small amounts of retirement income can go an incredibly long way in making sure you have enough to last you the rest of your life. Here, we'll look at three unexpected sources...

US. Five Retirement Planning Pitfalls (And How To Avoid Them)

As a financial advisor, one of the most commonly asked questions I get is, “What can I do to improve my retirement picture?” One of the biggest benefits of investing in a 401(k) plan is the ability to grow your assets over time. A 35-year-old who contributes $19,000 annually over a 30-year period can have $1.34 million to retire on at age 65, assuming a 5% annual return. Now that might sound like a difficult amount to put aside each...

Living in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Health, Finances, and Retirement Prospects of Four Generations

By Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies Since 1998, Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® (TCRS) has conducted a national survey of U.S. business employers and workers regarding their attitudes toward retirement. The overall goals for the study are to illuminate emerging trends, promote awareness, and help educate the public. It has grown to be one of the longest running and largest national surveys of its kind. • Limited Print and Electronic Rights. This document and trademark(s) contained herein are federally registered or...

US. Pandemic Puts Secure Retirement at Greater Risk for Many

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsize effect on people 50 and older: Not only did it impact older adults’ health more severely than younger ones, but it also forced many into early retirement and prompted others to take withdrawals from their savings earlier than they had planned. "The prospects of a secure retirement for millions of workers will be even more precarious following the pandemic, and more Americans of all ages will need to rely even more on Social...

Young Americans Are Saving For Retirement Sooner

Need some good news about American retirement? A recent survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies looked at how retirement savings behaviors and expectations have evolved during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of its findings were grim. Six in 10 respondents said they were concerned about their mental and physical health while the median respondent had just $5,000 in emergency savings. Yet there were also glimmers of hope. More than 80% of respondents saved for retirement during the pandemic, in either employer-sponsored...