Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, April 10th, 2006
As company after company drops traditional pension coverage for
do-it-yourself retirement-savings plans, Americans face working for a
paycheck longer than they thought because they aren’t up to planning
their retirement finances, a new survey finds.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute study released last week also reports that:
• 65 percent of workers of all ages and 50 percent of those 55 and
older have less than $50,000 in any savings other than their house.
• 61 percent of workers count on a pension check from their employer
even though only 40 percent are covered by a traditional pension plan.
• 67 percent expect to work for pay in retirement even though just
27 percent of current retirees report drawing any kind of paycheck.
“There are a lot of people who need to be saving more than they are
if they hope to be able to afford a comfortable retirement,” said
Temple University retirement expert Jack VanDerhei, co-author of the
institute’s retirement confidence survey.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
Studies show workers are overconfident, underestimate future needs
MSNBC, April 10th, 2006
Americans are as clueless as ever about their retirement prospects, according to a pair of new studies.
We’re
woefully overconfident, we grossly underestimate the amount of money
we’ll spend in our retirement years, and we have foolish expectations
of how much Social Security and pensions will provide.
We haven’t saved nearly enough, either. But we’re confident, gosh darn it.
Those are the conclusions of both studies.
One, the Retirement Confidence Survey, is one of the most established
and longest running retirement attitude surveys in the United States,
and is primarily underwritten by the Employee Benefits Research
Institute (EBRI).
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
As traditional pensions die off, you’ll need other ways to save
Newsday.com, April 9th, 2006
If your employer is getting rid of its pension plan or you were never
lucky enough to have one, you’re on your own when it comes to savings
for your golden years.
The number of workers who can enjoy guaranteed pension income in
retirement is dwindling. So the burden of retirement savings is
increasingly falling into employees’ laps.
While it may seem a daunting task, there are several things you can do to feather a retirement nest egg.
If your company offers a 401(k), sign up for it and contribute as much
as you can – at least enough to get your employer’s matching funds. If
you don’t have access to a 401(k), contribute to an individual
retirement account. If you work or own a small business, there are
other tax-deferred plans that can be set up.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
Lawrenceville resident will need to adjust retirement plans
Post-Gazette.com, April 9th, 2006
Lawrenceville resident Ginny Leary is worried.
The 55-year-old social worker wants to retire in 10 years and is
crossing her fingers hoping she’ll have enough set aside by then to
maintain her modest lifestyle.
So far, she’s saved about $85,000.
“I work with many elderly poor and I don’t know how they make it. It concerns me,” Ms. Leary said about her future.
“I have my little bitty IRAs. I’m hoping what I have now is going to keep up with inflation.”
Ms. Leary has reason to be concerned. Right now, she’s contributing
$315 a month, or nearly $4,000 a year, to retirement and other savings
accounts.
But with retirement coming up quickly, she’ll have to step up her
savings rate dramatically if she wants to be able to afford spending
the way she does now, including her one big extravagance of taking an
annual cruise.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
Chron.com, April 9th, 2006
It wasn’t easy to sign up, but now that she’s enrolled in the new
Medicare drug benefit, Ruth Dike says it’s made a big difference in her
finances.
The cost of her medicine ranges from about $10 to $15 a month, she says, versus at least $100 a month before she joined.
“It’s just a relief that I can buy the medications I need without
having to worry how I’m going to pay for them,” says Dike, 74, of
Casper, Wyo.
Congressional supporters of the program worry
that the problems that marked its beginnings have drowned out success
stories such as Dike’s.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
The Free New Mexican, April 9th, 2006
Robert Vaughn, wearing an Uncle Sam costume, stands on the corner of
Llano Street and St. Michael’s Drive to lure customers into Liberty Tax
Services a half block away.
As the April 17th deadline approaches — two days later than usual
because April 15 falls on a Saturday — people are pouring into the
American-flag-decorated shop for help filling out their tax forms.
And more and more, they tend to be undocumented immigrants.
Maria Zepeda, who earned about $8,000 working part-time as a
housekeeper at a Santa Fe hotel last year, was one of Liberty’s
customers this tax season.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
NJ.com, April 9th, 2006
Every year millions of American families pack up their
belongings and move — to another state or another town or
another neighborhood in their home town. For anyone who is
moving and is also receiving Social Security or Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) benefits, it is important to add one
more thing to the “to do” list — let Social
Security know about your new address and phone number as
soon as possible.
Even if you receive your benefits by direct deposit, Social
Security needs to have your correct address so we can send
letters and other important information to you. Your
benefits could be stopped if we are unable to contact you.
You should let Social Security know about your change of
address any time that you move, even if you relocate for
only part of the year. For example, if you live in a
different place during the summer than you do in the winter,
you need to change your address each time you relocate.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
BuisnessWeek, April 7th, 2006
Auto parts maker Delphi Corp. is free to move ahead on its plan to
induce thousands of hourly employees to retire, a bankruptcy judge
ruled Friday, marking a key milestone in the company’s effort to tame
staffing levels amid falling production.
The ruling allows Delphi, one of the world’s largest suppliers of auto
parts, to pay as many as 13,000 hourly employees to retire. Based in
Troy, Mich., Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection in October and is
trying to shed what it says are increasingly unsustainable labor
agreements that have left it overstaffed and saddled with costly
benefit programs.
Judge Robert Drain, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, on
Friday approved Delphi’s plan to offer eligible employees a $35,000
lump sum payment in exchange for their retirement. The payments will
actually be funded by former parent General Motors Corp., which agreed
to do so as part of a broader labor deal.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
Yahoo News, April 6th, 2006
U.S. states may find that what it costs them to provide medical care for retired
state employees will dwarf how much they pay for their retirement benefits,
according to a new report.
Many big companies are slashing both health and pension benefits, especially
in struggling industries such as airlines and autos. But it is much more
difficult for states to make similar cuts, at least for unionized employees,
because that can require changing current laws.
For example, New Jersey expects to pay more than $1 billion to provide health
care for both its current and retired employees, according to Tom Vincz, a
spokesman for state treasurer Bradley Abelow.
“And the kicker is that $721 million of that is for retired teachers,” he
said. Local school districts pick up the tab for teachers who are still working.
“But we as a state pay the full boat for retirement benefit costs,” Vincz
said.
Read more…
Posted on April 12, 2006 by Jason
NYTimes.com, April 4th, 2006
Massachusetts is poised to become the first state to provide nearly universal
health care coverage with a bill passed overwhelmingly by the legislature
Tuesday that Gov. Mitt Romney says he will sign.
The bill does what health experts say no other state has been able to do:
provide a mechanism for all of its citizens to obtain health insurance. It
accomplishes that in a way that experts say combines methods and proposals from
across the political spectrum, apportioning the cost among businesses,
individuals and the government.
“This is probably about as close as you can get to universal,” said Paul B.
Ginsburg, president of the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change
in Washington. “It’s definitely going to be inspiring to other states about how
there was this compromise. They found a way to get to a major expansion of
coverage that people could agree on. For a conservative Republican, this is
individual responsibility. For a Democrat, this is government helping those that
need help.”
Read more…
