Retirement

This summer, thousands of employees will be improving their financial knowledge and pitting their know-how against others in the first Employee Benefit News Financial Fitness Challenge

New findings from Tiburon Strategic Advisors reveal some interesting facts about advisers’ appetite, or lack thereof, for headline grabbing products such as alternatives and exchange-traded funds.

Financial advisers are so uncomfortable speaking about life insurance that more than half (56%) simply don’t do it, according to a recent survey by consultancy Saybrus Partners Inc.

Following a pair of bear markets, advisers know the days of buy-and-hold investors with 60/40 portfolio allocations are over.

Workers, shaken by the realities of the Great Recession, have adjusted their visions of retirement according to the 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey released this week 3,600 American workers. It found that the majority of workers plan to work past age 65 (56%) and the majority (54%) plan to continue working after they retire. Despite workers' demonstrated commitment to saving, just 39% believe they are building a sufficient nest egg, thereby underscoring the need to redefine "retirement readiness" in a way that is better suited to these new realities.

Half of Americans say they aren’t contributing to a retirement plan, but more specifically 56% of Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to be among those not saving, according to a recent LIMRA survey.

While most retirement plan participants find guaranteed income appealing, the farther the horizon to retirement, the greater the attraction, a new study from The Hartford shows.

Employee financial education can in fact improve employee engagement with retirement benefits and help them do a better job preparing for the future.

Employers and their employees hold different perspectives on how to best achieve retirement preparedness through 401(k) plans, according to the results of two newly released studies from Schwab Retirement Plan Services. Taken together, the studies indicate that, despite efforts by employers to educate workers on the 401(k) offering, most workers are unengaged and financially unprepared for retirement.

A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover medical expenses throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. This represents a 4% increase from last year, when the estimate was $230,000.