Retirement

Workplace retirement plan investors who use target-date funds feel more secure about reaching their goals and managing their portfolios than those who did not, a recent study from ING finds.

Sam Lazarus would love nothing more than to save money in his individual retirement account.

While some people justifiably claim that the defined contribution/401(k) market is mature, there's a school of thought that believes the market is about to go through radical changes. Primarily, a broad-based realization that DC plans will become the main retirement vehicle for the post-baby boom generation, causing greater scrutiny, focus and hopefully innovation for all involved.

Big shifts may be coming in how retirement plans are managed after the Labor Department announced the final version of its rules under Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA, which require broker dealers to disclose their services and fees to plan sponsors for individual plans.

Over the past 60 years, women have entered the education system and the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, and it would seem that because of this work, they'd be on equal footing with men when it comes time to retire.

More than a third of Americans say they most trust financial advisers to better understand retirement issues, according to a new survey.

Most retirement planning exercises begin and end with a simple question: How much income will you need to replace after you quit work?

Average life expectancy has risen dramatically during the last century. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the number of centenarians, people who live to be 100, rose from 2,300 in 1950 to nearly 80,000 in 2010, and will exceed 600,000 by 2050. And according to the Society of Actuaries, a 65-year-old couple now has a 31% chance of at least one spouse living past the age of 95

My grandmother had a coffee can for spare silver coins. My Dad saved at his local post office in a savings account. Those were a sign of the times — the U.S. postal savings system was the first government-guaranteed savings vehicle, but it disappeared in 1967.

The fifth annual national survey assessing household saving revealed that — despite hopeful macroeconomic signs — an increasing number of Americans are having difficulty saving to meet goals ranging from meeting emergencies to affording retirement. Over the last three years, the number who spend less than their income and save the difference, are building home equity, have adequate emergency savings, and think they are saving enough for retirement has declined. However, the survey also revealed that having a savings plan has beneficial financial effects, even for lower-income families.