August 2024

US. House committee still seeking answers on pension bailout overpayments

Republican members of a House committee are still seeking answers over the mismanagement of bailout money distributed to failing pension plans. A Wednesday letter penned by Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Bob Good, R-Va., called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to provide all communications surrounding the Department of Justice’s investigation into more than 60 multiemployer pension plans that were alleged to erroneously include dead plan participants on their special financial assistance applications. Central States Pension Fund entered a civil settlement in...

US. What the longevity economy means and why it’s important

Q. I have heard a lot about the longevity economy and don’t fully understand what it means. Can you explain it and why is it important? Many thanks. N.D. Let’s begin with the term “longevity.” Often it is used as a substitute for aging, yet the words are different from one another. Aging can be defined as a progressive decline to maintain one’s biological and physiological functioning. Longevity does not include decline. It is the average lifespan under ideal conditions suggesting how long we could live if all...

The three phases of retirement and how to maintain your quality of life

As you approach retirement, the third phase of your life after childhood and your working years, planning for financial security becomes crucial, especially to protect the wealth you built and maintain your lifestyle for the rest of your life. John Kennedy, director and regional head for the Western Cape at Citadel, says strategic financial management in retirement is extremely important, especially considering that this phase can be divided into three distinct periods, each requiring different financial approaches. A poll published on...

US. Nearly half of Americans projected to face funding shortfalls in retirement — Morningstar

Almost half of Americans (45%) will experience funding shortfalls in retirement, with single females most at risk, according to a new report from Morningstar Retirement. More than half of single females (55%) are expected to run short of money compared with 41% of couples and 40% of single males, the report found. The report also uncovered significant racial differences, with Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black Americans at greater risk of funding shortfalls than non-Hispanic whites and other non-Hispanics. More than 3 in...

Pension funds should protect our future, not destroy it

We live in a world where people’s movements for a healthy environment, with clean air to breathe and fresh water to drink, are vital and unstoppable. Sadly, fossil fuel companies are using all their might to continue extracting and polluting – harming communities, nature and the climate, all for the short-term financial gains of a few. But, as crises collide, calls for governments to hold corporations to account are growing, together with expectations that businesses must avoid harming people and...

The Time is Right for a National Retirement Savings Plan

Experts on retirement saving have plenty of assorted ideas for making 401(k) plans work better. But most agree on the top priority: get them into the hands of more people. Only about half of private-sector US workers are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan at any given time—and that figure hasn’t budged much over the years. The lost opportunity to save at the workplace translates into far too many people retiring with paltry savings or none at all, leaving them reliant...

July 2024

US. The ‘Three-Legged Stool’ of Retirement Is Missing a Leg

Once, the tale goes, American workers relied upon a three-legged stool for their retirement income: 1) Social Security, 2) pensions, and 3) personal savings. That metaphor was always rickety, as even at their peak pensions covered less than half of private-sector workers. Today, that figure is 15%. (Government employees are another matter, although those with college educations pay for the pension privilege by receiving lower ongoing wages.) To switch analogies, the middle ground is vacant. Social Security provides subsistence for retirees, while personal savings contribute...

The 2024 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds

By Social Security Administration The Trustees Report includes many tables containing historical data and projections. For convenience, we provide the reader with links to view all of these tables in one place, without the accompanying text of the report. Note that the tables in the report generally present results only for every fifth year. Therefore, we also provide links to supplemental tables by single year for readers requiring more detail. Reference should always be made to the published report for...

Scammers are targetting older americans and their retirement savings

For nearly three months, Barry Heitin, a 76-year-old retired lawyer, thought he was part of a government investigation that felt like something out of the movies. He was actually assisting criminals in stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars — of his own money. Last fall, he spent just about every weekday doing the legwork and making withdrawals from his bank accounts as part of an intricate scam: He believed he was helping the feds safeguard his money and catch thieves...

US. Michigan joins Wisconsin pension fund with bitcoin investment

When the Securities and Exchange Commission approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds, one of the questions after the approval was whether institutional investors would now be more comfortable investing in the cryptocurrency using those vehicles. It joins its neighboring swing-state retirement fund in investing in the cryptocurrency. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board previously has shown up in the top shareholder lists for the iShares Bitcoin Trust and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust . The Jersey City, N.J., pension fund is looking to invest...