Posts filed as “US retirement”

Do-it-yourself retirement v the plan that guarantees your income for years

A new idea in California could wrest retirement away from the financial industry and guarantee income for generations at risk

There is a long-running idea in American life that all trends start on the west coast and move east. When it comes to the subject of retirement planning, let's hope that's true.

The do-it-yourself revolution in retirement savings has left the United States on the verge of a crisis; 30 years of...Read more.

Pensions? Always someone else’s problem

Detroit's workers are not the first to see their retirement finances suddenly reduced – they are only the most recent

If a city declares bankruptcy and its current and retired workforce ranging from librarians and sanitation men to police officer and fire fighters are forced to take permanent reductions to their promised monthly pension benefits, will anyone care besides the impacted employees and the unlucky retired workers dependent on that income?

Thanks...Read more.

Pensions? Always someone else’s problem

Detroit's workers are not the first to see their retirement finances suddenly reduced – they are only the most recent

If a city declares bankruptcy and its current and retired workforce ranging from librarians and sanitation men to police officer and fire fighters are forced to take permanent reductions to their promised monthly pension benefits, will anyone care besides the impacted employees and the unlucky retired workers dependent on that income?

Thanks...Read more.

Saving for retirement: the key is to start small

If the powers that be want people to save more, they first need to encourage them to save for smaller splurges

When it comes to convincing people of the need to save money, it might be time to downplay the pressure to set aside retirement savings and the need to fund a 401(k).

What? We know we're in terrible fiscal shape for our retirements, and the younger we are, the worse...Read more.

Retirement savings: the million-dollar myth

Conventional wisdom in the 1990s told people saving $1m would be enough for retirement – today, that's not enough

When I got my start writing personal finance in the 1990s, it was conventional wisdom to tell people that if they could save and invest their way to $1m – via their 401(k) and other retirement accounts – their golden years would be a glorious event. They could travel, indulge in a hobby,...Read more.

Retirement savings: the million-dollar myth

Conventional wisdom in the 1990s told people saving $1m would be enough for retirement – today, that's not enough

When I got my start writing personal finance in the 1990s, it was conventional wisdom to tell people that if they could save and invest their way to $1m – via their 401(k) and other retirement accounts – their golden years would be a glorious event. They could travel, indulge in a hobby,...Read more.

Social security payments: grandma and grandpa need a raise

Traditional retirement savings strategies are fast becoming a thing of the past – social security is just about all we've got

It's time to discuss raising social security payments.

What? Aren't the talking heads in Washington trying to cut social security?

Right you are. Their idea is that social security is running out of money, and that unless we raise the age of eligibility, cut benefits, or preferably both, the system will collapse on...Read more.

Your 401k won’t save you | Helaine Olen

Most of us have less than $100,000 in retirement savings, less than half what some estimate is needed

Most of us respond to questions about our financial prospects after retirement with sentiments that could be best be compared to the look on Captain Quint's face when he realized he was about to be eaten by the shark in the 1970s classic Jaws.

There is a $6.6tn gap between what we...Read more.