investing

Why Aren’t Consumers Doing Their Part?

Interest rates are nothing more than the cost of spending money today instead of saving it. And a main tool of monetary policy has always been controlling interest rates as a means of stimulating or cooling off economic activity. When central bankers lower interest rates, they encourage people to spend more today. This is because lowering the return on saving encourages firms to hire and invest to meet the increased demand and boosts economic activity.…Read More

A Peek Into America’s Pocketbook Reveals Finances Are Improving Slowly, But Surely

Today’s release of the latest National Financial Capability Study shows that we’re doing better protecting ourselves against financial emergencies than in the past. We’re also doing a better job cutting our high-interest debt than previously. Yet our personal finances, particularly the amount of debt we’re taking on, is still troubling.…Read More

Retirement Income Calculators: Not Much Better Than Counting On Your Fingers?

When average Americans confront the complicated problem of how much to save for retirement, they often use so-called “rules of thumb,” or greatly-simplified approaches, to figure out how much to save and how to invest. It turns out that many of the computer programs created to help with retirement income planning do exactly the same thing: use rules of thumb.…Read More

Alpha Opportunities In A Sluggish Return Environment

The global economic environment presents new challenges for investors across the board. Public and private pension plans, consultants, Wall Street strategists, and money managers have all ratcheted down their forward-looking views on asset returns, meaning that defined contribution plan participants will be hurting if the financial community’s morose predictions bear fruit.…Read More

A New Approach To Timing Pension Payouts

US federal law requires retirees to annually withdraw a minimum amount from their retirement accounts after the age of 70 ½. [1] This is driven by a tax rationale: since pension contributions are generally tax-deferred, Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules require that taxes should be paid on pension benefits during old age. Yet a criticism has been levied at RMD rules, namely that they may prejudice good retirement policy. To the extent that some households are required to draw down their pension wealth too soon, this increases the risk that they will outlive their resources.…Read More

Key Retirement Concerns And 7 Planning Tips For Women

Retirement planning is extremely important for women, and ideally it should consider the big picture including financial resources, the family’s situation, risks, and employment. Nevertheless, many women are more focused on meeting their families’ current needs than on their longer-term futures. This article looks at how family issues can shape women’s retirement plans and examines issues and planning steps that might otherwise be overlooked.…Read More

How To Get More Guaranteed Retirement Income In The 401(k) Age

In the old days, many Americans had a defined benefit (DB) pension that paid them a steady guaranteed income in retirement. But the pension landscape has shifted dramatically: now more than half of all US retirement assets are in self-directed defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) – and the figures are rising. These DC plans and IRAs do offer millions the chance to build up and control their own nest eggs, but what they don’t offer is a guaranteed income in retirement. Instead, retirees must manage their nest eggs themselves and hope that their decisions – how much to save, where to invest, and how much to take out each year – and the ups and downs of the market, will permit their money to last as long as they do.…Read More