Retirement benefits

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.

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.

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

A recent survey by TD Ameritrade uncovers how much financial trouble a fiancé will tolerate before calling off the wedding.

Nearly half of soon-to-be-retired, high-net-worth Americans say they are terrified of what health care costs may do to their retirement plans, according to a new survey.

Investment products are "overly complex," and investors are feeling "overwhelmed" by the slew investment choices available to them, according to the MFS Investing Sentiment Survey.

Financial advisers sometimes puzzle over how to effectively reach and serve black and Hispanic clients. A Vanguard study released recently suggests they can start by drilling home a simple message: emergency savings accounts are a must.

The Hartford's recent announcement to divest its retirement division has more to do about the economy and the parent's corporate direction, perhaps instigated by an activist investor, than it does about the quality of its retirement business.

The pending implementation of the Department of Labor's new rules on fee disclosure was one of several topics that had hundreds of financial advisers, consultants, fiduciaries, IRA experts and record keepers gathered in the Big Easy, at the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries 401(k) Summit buzzing with nervous anticipation.

Despite recent tax reform proposals, experts testified at a House committee hearing Tuesday that cutting the incentives for retirement plans would be detrimental to savings in this country.

After a long, winding legal road, involving no fewer than six federal court decisions, Ameriprise Financial finally won a suit alleging that it had charged excessively high adviser fees.