Retirement benefits

Target-date funds pulled in $13.9 billion in the second quarter despite the nearly 3% loss on average, according to Morningstar.

House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would expand the role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct oversight examinations of investment advisers, a segment of the financial services sector that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have agreed is under regulated.

One-third of “transition boomers,” those aged 55 to 65 and who are 10 years or fewer away from retirement, are unsure how much money they will need to cover basic living expenses in retirement, according to The Transition Boomers and Retirement Income Survey, from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

As Americans struggle in the recession’s aftermath to prepare for retirement, those who have taken the time to put together a financial plan feel more confident and report more success managing money, savings and investments than those who have not.

Data collected from the 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey makes it clear that the effects of the “Great Recession” have taken their toll on not just retirees, but the unemployed and underemployed as well.

More than three-quarters of plan participants (78%) know it is important to determine how much to save for a secure retirement but only a third claim to have the knowledge to determine that amount, according to a survey released Wednesday by State Street Global Advisors.

According to a recent LIMRA survey, 61% of consumers who worked with an adviser contributed to a retirement plan or an IRA and are saving at a higher rate compared to only 38% of consumers who weren't working with an adviser.

Advisers are more committed than ever to helping clients with their retirement income planning, but they face a host of challenges, including not knowing where to go to build their knowledge of retirement planning.

How are breakthrough innovations created? What is the process and can it be replicated or facilitated? These are the fundamental questions tackled by Frans Johansson in his seminal book, "The Medici Effect."

As new retirement fee disclosures go into effect this summer, a coalition of 15 retirement industry groups are urging the Department of Labor to allow broader use of electronic communication for retirement plan participant disclosures, which are now mailed in paper form to plan participants.

Over the last 20 years, the percentages of households that will not be ready for retirement at age 65 has nearly doubled to 50%, according to recent data from the National Retirement Risk Index.

Ever wonder what makes successful advisers successful? Independence and technology are the leading factors, according to four advisers at TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Elite Summit, but some of the other factors were even more surprising.

Despite taking proactive steps to keep their finances in check, only a third of American workers (34%) believe they are saving enough money in order to live comfortably in retirement, according to new research from the Principal Financial Well-Being Index.

As attention to the importance of creating retirement income grows, a new MetLife study finds that plan sponsors of the largest workplace retirement plans and their recordkeepers have taken the first steps to help participants secure retirement income — but a lot more work needs to be done to pave the way for participants to begin to take action.

It is nearly impossible for an adviser to effectively help an employer manage their DC plan without doing what it takes to make them a functional fiduciary. Realizing that many advisers, or those that were traditionally called brokers, could not become named fiduciaries, others that could do so used it as a weapon in head-to-head competition.

Despite recent tax reform proposals, experts testified at a House committee hearing April 26 that cutting incentives for retirement plans would be detrimental to savings.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I met with a financial planner for the first time. Setting up the appointment was my idea - I suppose three and a half years of constant exposure to press releases entailing Americans' alarming lack of retirement preparedness will do that to a person.

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.