Retirement education

Careful planning can help prevent workers from shrinking their benefits based on misperceptions.

Providing automatic savings accounts can keep employees from using retirement funds in a crisis.

Target-date funds can help risk-averse young workers ease into investing.

Providing automatic savings accounts can keep employees from using retirement funds in a crisis.

Employer-provided resources, including online retirement calculators, may lead employees to increase their annual contributions and improve spending habits.

Target-date funds can help risk-averse young workers ease into investing.

Dual-income couples benefit less from Social Security.

Savers can expect investment returns through compounded growth as long as they don’t lose from a market downturn.

There are many misconceptions that can lead to financial hardships in retirement.

A health savings account can be a great savings vehicle for people who are preparing for retirement.

Funding a 401(k), 403(b) or company-sponsored retirement savings vehicle should come first, an expert says.

The legislation includes a provision that would raise the age limit for making contributions and taking required minimum distributions.

Plan participants should consider boosting their contribution rates if they are planning for an early retirement, says one expert.

Even among those who had some savings, people say they commonly lacked financial knowledge and were uncomfortable making investment decisions.

Although taxes on traditional 401(k) contributions are deferred, distributions will be subject to ordinary income taxes in retirement.

Workers should develop a sustainable withdrawal strategy to ensure that they won't outlive their savings.

An average couple aged 65 who are about to retire this year will need $285,000 to cover healthcare expenses.

Ensure their contributions don't exceed the limits to avoid a penalty tax.

Seniors who hold retirement savings in various assets should develop a tax-efficient withdrawal strategy.

By learning to recognize the common challenges that plague nonqualified retirement plans, employers can look for red flags in their own plan management — and plot a corrective course of action.