Wealth management

Around the time they turn 50, many people unconsciously begin to ratchet up their spending. Instead, prominent retirement planning scholar Alicia Munnell thinks financial planners and employers need to wage a campaign to get their clients and employees to hit the pause button at this crucial midpoint in their lives.

Aon Hewitt’s September 401(k) Index observations were released yesterday, showing that despite steep losses in the stock market in September, participant transfers were very modest. On average, 0.03% of balances transferred on any given day. This is in line with the trailing 12-month average daily net transfer activity levels.

American workers' trust in their future retirement has reached a four-year low, according to a release of the Unretirement Index, a poll of nearly 1,500 working Americans by Sun Life Financial Inc. After remaining stable for three years, retirement confidence dropped nearly 20% this September compared to a year earlier, according to the survey.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. this week issued an investor alert urging the roughly 30% of American workers who are not contributing enough to their 401(k) plans to receive a full employer match to step up their contributions in order to meet their eventual retirement needs.

Americans of all ages and sexes are forgoing retirement planning, but there are marked differences between older and younger generations. And while women are often making financial and purchasing decisions for their households, the survey found they are not taking the same care as they plan for their own golden years.

As financial markets continue to fluctuate and place retirement portfolios at risk, non-retired Americans are showing a clear desire for guaranteed income in retirement according to a survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Recent findings from the 2011 MetLife Retirement Income IQ, a 15-question quiz on retirement issues conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, shows Americans have quite a way to go to learn what they need for a financially secure retirement. Of the 1,213 pre-retirees aged 56 to 65 who took the quiz, the majority answered only five of the 15 questions correctly, leaving a persistent misperception and misunderstanding in a number of core areas, such as life expectancy, inflation, retirement income/savings, long-term care insurance and, to some extent, Social Security.

Although Edward Jones recommends that retirees start with a plan to withdraw 4% of their retirement savings each year, Americans have a widely varying idea of how much they will need, the investment firm found in a survey of 1,011 people.

In the wake of economic and stock market volatility, many 401(k) investors are questioning the wisdom of 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, a survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company finds.

Automatic enrollment greatly increases participation in 401(k) plans for all racial and ethnic groups, with particular success for Blacks and Hispanics, even among low earners, Vanguard research shows.

Retirement plans are fast becoming an important tool for small businesses to attract and retain talent. Surprising even some experts, it has joined the ranks of health care as a major employee demand, according to a new survey.

MassMutual Retirement Services’ 2011 campaign to prompt 401(k) participants to save more has succeeded in boosting deferral rates by 4.34%. It also was aimed at getting those who were not saving into the game, and helping those with portfolios to revisit their allocations.

The Principal has announced its 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security, an annual honor for employers that maintained or enhanced financial supports that overall have dwindled in the past few years as health care costs increased and budgets tightened.

There seems little doubt that America faces a looming retirement-income adequacy crisis. By virtually every measure, employees haven't saved anywhere near enough to fund their retirement. To cite just a few of many studies on the subject, a recent McKinsey report estimates that the average American faces a 37% shortfall in the income needed in retirement. Boston College's Retirement Readiness Index estimates 51% of Americans will not be able to maintain their preretirement standard of living. And introducing potential health care and long-term care costs increases the index to 66%.

Do you know what you are? Erisa titles matter. The questions may sound like the title to a Dr. Seuss book, but it has great bearing on how you are treated under ERISA. Knowing your title also creates clarification as to what your duties are, and what they are not.

Eighty-four percent of 401(k) sponsors surveyed by Mercer and the U.S. SIF Foundation (formerly known as the Social Investment Forum Foundation) believe that sustainable and socially responsible investment funds will either hold steady or grow in the next five years.

Investors reaching or in retirement are much more likely to stay in the stock market if they’re invested in financial products that provide guaranteed income. That was one of the major findings this week from an online survey Prudential conducted in May of this year.

Women who take charge, do the math, plan for contingencies and work with their partners and/or financial advisors have a better chance of securing their finances in retirement than those who shrink from the process, according to a new study from the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

You can't throw numbers at Millennials. It just doesn't work, especially in trying to convince them to save for retirement. The focus is on the here and now.

The Labor Department is likely to stick with a plan that could restrict brokers who provide IRA account advice from charging commissions.