August 2017

17Aug

US. Volatility, Retirement Top of Mind

Americans worry almost as much about short-term market volatility as they do about achieving their long-term retirement goals, Franklin Templeton Investments found in its 2017 Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations Survey. Forty-seven percent are concerned about short-term volatility and 53% about their retirement goals. Volatility concerns men more than women (51% vs. 44%) while for women, long-term retirement goals are top of mind (56% vs. 49%). Of the generations, Generation X is the least concerned about volatility—39% say they pay attention...

August 17, 2017
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02Aug

US. State, local pension plan funding dropped in 2016

As if there’s not enough to worry about in the retirement crisis, when people have so little saved, those who have pensions from states and local governments are likely not reassured about the performance of aggregate funding levels for those plans in 2016. A brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds that aggregate funding for state and local pension plans fell during fiscal year 2016, thanks to continued steady growth of liabilities even while poor stock...

August 2, 2017
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01Aug

Ladies, make sure you mind the pensions gap

There is a glaring gender gap when it comes to pension savings – a gap which grows as women age and means many face the prospect of spending their so-called “third life” in poverty. There are many factors behind this gap, ranging from the fact that women still pay a higher “parenthood penalty”, to the gender pay gap, and even the way retirement products are designed. While the number of men reaching the oldest ages is increasing, women still outlive their...

August 1, 2017
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July 2017

31Jul

US. 34% Of Entrepreneurs Have No Retirement Savings Plan

Fully a third of small business owners don’t have a retirement savings plan, according to a recent survey by small business site Manta. Of those who don’t, 37% don’t make enough profit to save for retirement, 21% used their previous retirement savings to invest in the business, and 18% plan to sell their business to fund their retirement. “I find that small business owners, especially successful ones, are typically very driven and optimistic people,” says Kirk Licata, a financial advisor...

July 31, 2017
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27Jul

US. Retirement plan participation higher than previously thought: ICI

More workers than commonly thought participate in retirement plans, according to a study by the Investment Company Institute. But even with the new numbers, there's plenty of room for improvement. The study by the mutual fund industry's trade group found that 63% of all workers aged 26 to 64 participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan either directly or through a spouse. ICI's study looked at data from the IRS Statistics of Income Division Form W-2 study. The data provide an alternative...

July 27, 2017
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25Jul

Medicaid, pension costs create budget complications for U.S. states: report

A sluggish forecast for U.S. economic growth as well as an increase in U.S. states' Medicaid and pension contribution costs is creating a budgetary squeeze in many state capitols, according to a research report issued by S&P Global Ratings on Monday. While the risk of a recession within the next 12 months has fallen into a 15-20 percent range from 20-25 percent, the rate of economic expansion "is expected to remain fairly anemic at 1.8 percent over the longer term...

July 25, 2017
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25Jul

US. Women’s Retirement Income Literacy Is Lower Than Men’s

Women at retirement age, those between the ages of 60 and 75, understand the components of retirement income far less well than men of the same age, although even men don’t grasp the topic very well, the RICP Retirement Income Literacy Survey from The American College of Financial Services found. Only 18% of women passed the quiz, compared to 35% of men. A mere 16% of women answered questions about annuity products in retirement correctly, compared to 24% of men....

July 25, 2017
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20Jul

The US is losing ground when it comes to retirement security

All your retirement dreams can come true, just maybe not in the U.S. Among the leading nations for retirement security, the United States didn't even crack the top 15, according to the 2017 Global Retirement Index by Natixis Global Asset Management. Europe, however, continued to dominate the top spots, with Norway at No. 1 for the second year in a row, followed by Switzerland and Iceland. Sweden ranked No. 4 and New Zealand rounded out the top 5, Natixis reported. With more...

July 20, 2017
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20Jul

Have Americans’ Retirement Benefits Been Slashed?

Ben Steverman of Bloomberg reports that “Employers cut their contributions to workers' retirements by a quarter from 2001 to 2015…The biggest driver: the decline of traditional defined-benefit pensions, replaced by stingier, 401(k)-style, defined-contribution plans.” According to a survey by the firm Willis Towers Watson, employer contributions to retirement plans fell from 9.1 percent of worker pay in 2001 to just 6.8 percent in 2015. Just another day in the ongoing retirement crisis, right? In fact, federal government data show...

July 20, 2017
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19Jul

US. GOP again hits federal retirement in latest budget plan

The House budget proposal released Tuesday continues Republican efforts to cut federal employees’ compensation by making them pay more for retirement benefits. Saying they seek “reforms to civil service pensions to put them on a better fiscal path,” the spending plan released by the House Budget Committee calls on staffers “to make greater contributions to their own defined benefit retirement plans.” While the Republican’s “Plan for Fiscal Responsibility” did not provide details, it echoes previous proposals, including one offered by President...

July 19, 2017
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