Retirement

Assets in U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, reached $1.027 trillion on Dec. 16, reports BlackRock.

Americans are significantly more concerned about future expenses than paying off existing debt or paying their current bills, according to a poll conducted in October by InCharge Debt Solutions.

More Americans plan to consider financial resolutions when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, a new Fidelity Investments survey finds.

The more education a person has is strongly correlated with how confident they are about their retirement and their ability to save and plan for it, according to the 11th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey.

Baby Boomers are set to inherit $8.4 trillion, and have already inherited $2.4 trillion, according to The MetLife Study of Inheritance and Wealth Transfer to Baby Boomers. Overall, two-thirds of Baby Boomers stand to receive some inheritance in their lifetime.

For younger employees the possibility of an enjoyable retirement is dwindling. According to a study by Aon Hewitt, Generation Y workers can expect stagnant wages, job insecurity and a steady decline in pension plan and retiree medical benefits.

BB&T Bank’s institutional division has added a fixed-annuity option to its 401(k) product, which is called ClearCourse. It’s a Genworth fixed annuity guaranteeing its buyers lifetime income stream.

Twenty-three percent of middle-class IRA remained undecided in October about converting to an IRA, according to a study by First Command, a financial-education firm.

When the Departments of Labor and Treasury sent out an RFI on annuities as a retirement savings vehicle in 401(k) plans earlier this year, Allianz Life Financial Services was one of 800 respondents.

If there was any doubt, the October 2010 401kExchange Opportunity Indices (reporting the percentage of plans that indicate they are currently searching for or thinking of changing recordkeepers, funds or advisers) definitively show that DC plan sponsors are much more concerned about finding the right adviser than changing their funds or recordkeepers.