A majority of Americans with 401(k)-type savings accounts are accumulating debt faster than they are setting aside money for retirement, further undermining the nation’s troubled system for old-age saving, a new report has found.
Read the full article at The Washington Post.
Dozens of local municipalities are facing major budget issues, with pension debts getting much of the blame. And many city workers are finding their retirement funds in danger, or worse. Host Michel Martin speaks with Michael Fletcher of The Washington Post, about the issue.
Read the full article at National Public Radio (NPR).
The magical age 65 that signaled retirement time for our parents might not hold true for the baby boomer generation. Sure the idea is appealing to call it quits before we are too old to appreciate and enjoy our second act. But the reality may be that 65 is just too young to retire.
Read the full article at U.S. News & World Report.
“We should never have let our retirement system evolve into one where individuals are responsible for all of the complicated decisions of saving and investing for retirement. But given where we are, we need to make the system we have as easy and automatic as possible.”
Read the full article at MarketWatch.
If you’ve looked for work in recent years, you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s a tough slog and that older job seekers often encounter age bias. But a new survey also finds snippets of good news to cheer older workers and boomer job-hunters.
Read the full article at MarketWatch.
Eventually this shutdown crisis will end. And eventually the two parties will make another stab at a deal on taxes, investments and entitlements. But there’s one outcome from such negotiations that I can absolutely guarantee: Seniors, Wall Street and unions will all have their say and their interests protected. So the most likely result will be more tinkering around the edges, as our politicians run for the hills the minute someone accuses them of “fixing the deficit on the backs of the elderly” or creating “death panels” to sensibly allocate end-of-life health care. Could this time be different? Short of an economic meltdown, there is only one thing that might produce meaningful change: a mass movement for tax, spending and entitlement reform led by the cohort that is the least organized but will be the most affected if we don’t think long term — today’s young people.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
In dentists’ and doctors’ offices, hearing aid centers and pain clinics, American health care is forging a lucrative alliance with American finance. A growing number of health care professionals are urging patients to pay for treatment not covered by their insurance plans with credit cards and lines of credit that can be arranged quickly in the provider’s office. The cards and loans, which were first marketed about a decade ago for cosmetic surgery and other elective procedures, are now proliferating among older Americans, who often face large out-of-pocket expenses for basic care that is not covered by Medicare or private insurance.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
Among Americans ages 50 and older who currently have jobs, 82% expect to work in some form during retirement, according to the poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Read the full article at Los Angeles Times.
Do you want to have significant influence over how much monthly retirement income you receive from your 401(k), IRA, and other savings after you retire? A new study by the Stanford Center on Longevity and the Society of Actuaries (authored by the writer of this post) found that can best be achieved by picking the right retirement income solution.
Read the full article by Center on Longevity Research Scholar Steve Vernon at CBS MoneyWatch.
Stung by a recession that sapped investments and home values, but expressing widespread job satisfaction, older Americans appear to have accepted the reality of a retirement that comes later in life and no longer represents a complete exit from the workforce. Some 82 percent of working Americans over 50 say it is at least somewhat likely they will work for pay in retirement, according to a poll released Monday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Read the full article at ABC News.