Wealth management

A new Fidelity Investments study finds that noticeably more mothers than fathers have had comprehensive conversations about savings, planning and retirement with their adult children.

Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, plans to introduce legislation this year to require businesses that don’t offer a pension or 401(k) plan with a company match to automatically enroll workers in a so-called USA Retirement Fund.

Men and women are equally likely to say that they and/or their spouse have saved — or are currently saving — for retirement. And they are almost as likely to indicate that they have tried to calculate how much they will need to save for a comfortable retirement, with 45% of women and 47% of men claiming to have tried to make that calculation.

Baby boomers are bucking the trends of generations before them, according to research released this week from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. When it comes to what they will pass on, 72% cite values and life lessons as most important, while just 32% said financial and real estate assets.

The Fidelity Investments findings show that average balances in small business retirement savings plans increased 20% since 2007, and jumped an average of 64% over 2008 when balances were generally at their lowest point.

Nearly three out of five retirees say they retired earlier than they expected, according to a survey of retirees and pre-retirees conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Just one in nine pre-retirees, meanwhile, is completely confident in their ability to pay for their health care retirement expenses.

Less than half (42%) were aware that that their take-home pay would decline this year due to the recent elimination of the payroll tax holiday by Congress. The awareness was greater among men.

Studying a plan sponsor with 200,000 participants and a 25% annual turnover rate, BRG found that departing employees with personalized start-to-finish help from impartial counselors cut cashout rates in half and saved an estimated $6 million in costs.

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would make it easier for workers to repay loans or withdrawals they take from their 401(k) plans, drawing praise from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.

Americans’ confidence in their retirement savings remains at record low levels, according to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Conflicting surveys and interviews highlight the difficulty in getting a true picture of Generation Y’s retirement readiness.

Americans who work with a financial professional, had a college education and more than $100,000 in household assets are more likely to have a higher financial literacy.

Regulators should require financial advisers to give clients information to verify their credentials for advising senior citizens, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

The online tool, dubbed My Retirement Plan, asks people to answer questions about how much they save each month, and then projects how much income they can expect to receive at retirement.

Increased loan activity raises fresh concerns about preparation for employee retirement readiness.

The percentage of baby boomers that are confident in their financial preparations for retirement has declined over the past three years, according to the Insured Retirement Institute, and most do not expect their financial situations to improve in the next five years.

The Chamber of Commerce’s 7th annual capital markets summit in Washington, D.C., brought together leaders from the business community, the public policy sector and government to examine the state of financial regulatory reform and address challenges facing U.S. and global markets.

More than a third of U.S. workers spend between two hours and “half the day” fretting over their personal finances, according to new research from McGraw Hill Federal Credit Union.

When it comes to accessing information on financial investments, most young investors turn to traditional media, according to a recent survey.

The availability of in-plan investment advice appears to have increased. In a recent survey, almost eight in 10 participants (79%) said that their plans offer online, telephonic or in-person advice, up from 72% in 2011.