"If you are moving on from your employer, shouldn't your money move on as well?" asked Peter Lazaroff at The Wall Street Journal. Rolling a 401(k) into an individual retirement account when you leave a job is an "automatic move for many investors," but there are times when it makes more sense to leave your money where it is. The most important thing to consider is expenses. It could be that your current 401(k) plan is cheaper than an...
I’m alarmed by the increasing interest in what I’ll call forced senior migration: that is, American seniors who move abroad in order to ensure they can live less expensively, hoping to prolong their retirement nest eggs. Writer Max Holleran Hayes recently captured this phenomenon in a thought-provoking rumination in The New Republic on Gringolandia: Lifestyle Migration Under Late Capitalism, a new book by Matthew Hayes. Essentially, he noted that many current social, political and economic policies are driving a reverse...
LIMRA data shows nearly four in 10 workers say they began to save for retirement because their employer offered a retirement savings plan. Data shared by LIMRA shows four in 10 employers with fewer than 100 employees currently offer retirement benefits, meaning the small business employee retirement plan coverage gap remains a significant industry challenge for 2019. The LIMRA research highlights the fact that Americans’ top financial concern is affording a comfortable retirement—and that they believe access to a...
For those with decades until retirement, the market’s swings are just a part of the investing process. As long as your asset allocation is in line with your risk tolerance, you can more or less sit back, ignore daily movements and turn off CNN when things get rocky. But for new retirees and those just a few years away, a tanking market is a scarier prospect.If that’s you, you need to start moving some of your assets around to a...
The number of multiemployer pensions in critical status has fallen for the sixth straight year. The number of US multiemployer pension plans in critical status has declined for the sixth straight year, and has fallen to its lowest level since 2008, according to data from the US Department of Labor. Under federal pension law, if a multiemployer pension plan is determined to be in critical status or endangered status, the plan must provide notice to participants, beneficiaries, the bargaining parties, the...
Some fear that unless the market settles, local governments and schools could face increases in employer contributions to offset pension losses, which could increase pressure to raise taxes. The last time the stock market was roiled by the volatility that it has been experiencing recently was the beginning of the 2008 recession, which left the massive state pension system bruised and turning to local property taxes to make up for losses. Some experts fear that unless the current stock...
The start of a new year is a great time to make some resolutions that could change your personal financial picture for the better. One such pledge is to sock away more money for retirement in the coming year -- an especially crucial move for folks who are currently behind on savings. Here are five ways to make that happen. 1. Bank your raise If you were lucky enough to snag a raise this year, you have a great...
The American workforce is getting older. In fact, by 2024 the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 25% of the US workforce will be composed of workers over the age of 55, and a third of those workers will be older than 65. The reasons, for the most part, are due to the country’s overall ageing population as a result of declining birth rates and better life expectancy. But there’s also something else going on. Employees are not only working longer...
Fourth quarter decline in stock market derailed improved funding trend for year The funded status of the nation's largest corporate pension plans slipped at the end of 2018 as a sharp decline in the stock market during the fourth quarter offset what looked to be a second consecutive year of improved funding, according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. Willis Towers Watson examined pension plan data for 389...
The average U.S. corporate pension plan lost 4.7 percent last year after stocks tanked in the fourth quarter, according to Willis Towers Watson. Steep year-end declines in U.S. stocks left America’s largest public companies deeper in the hole for their pension obligations, according to analysis by consulting firm Willis Towers Watson. Pension funding levels for Fortune 1000 companies dipped to an estimated 84 percent after a volatile fourth quarter culminated in sharp losses in December. The Standard & Poor's...
