Your Retirement on WYPR: Recent Episodes
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FINALE: The Most Affordable States in which to Retire
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The Challenge of Being Financially Prepared for Retirement
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America's $7 Trillion Retirement Crisis
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Some Retirement Tips in Tricky Times
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On this week's podcast: federal deficits, Iran's economy, high credit scores, carbon emissions, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this week's show: economic despair and opioids, China's economic struggles, women in the workforce, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On the podcast this week: the irrelevance of the federal minimum wage, the limits of economic theory, the millennials are coming, and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let’s say you are saving for retirement and are also socially conscious. It is quite possible that if you participate in an employer’s 401K plan, you may be supporting things that do not strike you as socially worthwhile. Many a federal worker is precisely in this situation. As pointed out by writer Ron Lieber, many people who work for the Office of the Surgeon General are exposed to tobacco stocks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Late last year, the U.S. Congress passed significant changes to retirement savings. Specifically, Congress passed a retirement savings bill known as the SECURE Act as part of a massive government spending bill. As indicated by writer Michael Townsend, the House of Representatives approved the bill on December 17 the Senate followed suit on December 19, and the President signed it into law one day later.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by writer Glenn Ruffenach, many retirees enter 2020 in a good mood. After all, stocks had a terrific run in 2019, with the S&P 500 climbing a remarkable 29 percent.
As of December, the economy had been expanding for a record 126 consecutive months according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Partially as a result, a recent survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 82 percent of retirees were confident in their capacity to live comfortably throughout their later life, similar to levels of confidence observed in 2005.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
During the final days of last year, Congress quietly passed a $1.4 trillion federal spending bill. Among the most newsworthy items, for the first time in 45 years of federal pension law, taxpayer dollars will be used to bail out a fund for workers in the private sector.
Anirban tells us what that dying pension fund represents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are a number of ways to determine whether or not one is financially prepared for retirement. Listen to learn more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How much of your income should you save for retirement? Anirban shares new research and recommendations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While it is common for many people to suggest that one needs about a million dollars to retire comfortably at the age of 65, there are plenty of other sources of information that indicate that a million dollars would be inadequate, and that a figure closer to one point five million or one point seven million makes more sense. Are you expecting to be a millionaire in your mid-sixties?As indicated by writer Eric Reed, if you’re like the average American, the answer is absolutely not. According to a 2018 study conducted by Northwestern Mutual, twenty-one percent of Americans have no retirement savings and an additional ten percent have less than five-thousand dollars in savings. A third of Baby Boomers presently in, or approaching, retirement age have between nothing and twenty-five thousand dollars set aside. The Economic Policy Institute paints an even bleaker picture, though that seems impossible. Their data from twenty-thirteen indicates that nearly half of families have no retirement account savings at all. None. Institute also found that for most age groups, median account balances in twenty-thirteen were less than half their pre-recession peak and lower than at the onset of the new millennium. The numbers are even worse for Millennials. Nearly six in ten have no retirement savings whatsoever. Based on these data and others, there really is a retirement crisis in America. In the decade to come, millions of Americans will find it difficult to continue working, but they will lack the means to stop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by writer Kathleen Coxwell, according to the most recent research from Boston College, the percentage of retirees in 2019 who are at risk of not having enough saved for retirement is in the range of 50 percent. This is despite the fact that average retirement income this year is up, perhaps due to more seniors working longer. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Most people are aware that Congress has a lot to deal with presently. Adding to their to do list will be a set of policies pertinent to retirement that Washington’s policymakers will be considering the fall. For instance, as indicated by writer Mark Miller, there will be proposed legislation that would restore Social Security’s financial solvency.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The fact that so many people are confused about how much money they will need for retirement is hardly surprising. There are a sea of articles, studies, and opinion pieces about such things, and they tend to be all over the map in terms of explaining to people what they need to be ready for retirement. Here is some more data. According to TD Ameritrade’s 2019 Retirement Pulse Survey, about six in 10 Americans think that one million dollars will be enough for a comfortable retirement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While it is true that many people have failed to adequately save for retirement, some in this position likely shrug their shoulders, and decide that they have a solution – they’ll just keep working. But there is no guarantee of permanent employment. Indeed, there is plenty of evidence of age discrimination in the workplace. According to a study by ProPublica and the Urban Institute, between 1992 and 2016, 56 percent of older workers reported either being laid off or pushed out of a job at least once.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There has been considerable discussion about those youthful Millennials who stubbornly remain ensconced in their parents’ homes even after graduating from college or securing their first job. =But for many people, the situation is inverted with their parents moving in with them. According to the Pew Research Center, among adults living in someone else’s households, 14 percent were the parent of the household head in 2017. That’s up from 7 percent in 1995.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many people dream of retiring abroad, but this presents many challenges, including the fact that Medicare doesn’t travel well. As indicated by writer Michelle Andrews, as the number of American retirees living overseas expands, more of them are confronting difficult choices regarding medical care. If they had remained in the U.S., Medicare would generally have been their coverage options.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While the age of 65 represents the age most closely associated with the notion of retirement, there are many other ages to consider. For instance, one can begin collecting social security benefits at the age of 62. However, that may not be a great idea since is one is to claim their full social security benefit, one needs to sign up for social security at one’s full retirement age. Full retirement age varies by birth year. Indeed, full retirement age is defined as 65 for those born in 1937 or earlier.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many of us have heard that one million dollars is the magic benchmark for retirement savings. But according to a recent survey from Charles Schwab, many Americans believe that one million dollars in savings is inadequate. Based on responses from 1,000 401k plan participants nationwide, Americans believe they will need $1.7 million to retire. Many people will fail to achieve even the smaller $1 million in retirement savings threshold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Approximately 10,000 people turn 65 in the U.S. each day. The average American retires before that benchmark – around the age of 63. The life expectancy for retirees is about 79, which means that the average American will spend 16 years in retirement. Conventional wisdom suggests that a retirement nest egg of about $1 million is needed to make it through retirement without suffering significant declines in living standards, but as indicated by writer Joel Anderson, the purchasing power of that million dollars depends substantially upon where one resides.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Most Americans seem well aware that Social Security is in trouble and running out of money. As indicated by the Social Security Board of Trustees and reported by writer Lorie Konish, the program’s trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2035, at which time only 80 percent of promised benefits will be payable. According to the latest Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey, only eight percent of surveyed Americans think that the federal government should take no action to shore up the system. Anirban tells us about the other top answers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As many are aware, most Americans aren’t financially prepared for retirement and they often know it. According to the Federal Reserve Board’s sixth annual survey of household economics, approximately 44 percent of Americans indicate that their retirement savings are not on track versus 36 percent who believe that they are on track. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Perhaps you are set to retire next year. That’s fabulous. But it’s important to note that the year before entering retirement is critical, and there are some items things that you should probably consider. As indicated by writer Kelly LaVigne, among these are one – determine your healthcare coverage needs, two – expand your savings rate during your last year at work, three – assess your investment risk exposure, four – analyze your income needs in retirement, and five – build that bucket list and figure out how much it will cost to check off various items on that list. None of this is especially simple.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban tells us the closest thing to the magic number–that is, the number you'll need to retire.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
t’s hardly a secret that more Americans are staying on the job longer, or even returning to work after retiring. But as indicated by CNBC, the tendency of older Americans to work varies by community, with the 65 and older crown more apparent as members of the workforce is some cities relative to others. Recent research from retirement community operator Provisional Living offers insights in where older workers are clocking in the most. Researchers analyzed Census Bureau data from cities with populations of at least 200,000. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the final analysis, to afford retirement, one needs enough resources relative to expenses. One way to address retirement is to amass resources through saving and investment. Another way to help address the financial requirements of retirement is to cut expenditures, including by moving. Much attention has been given to nations that offer Americans an opportunity to live in retirement more cheaply, whether Costa Rica or other retirement hotspots for prospective ex-pats.Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban reports on young Americans and credit card debt, labor's share of national income, the Brazilian economy, the wave of economic growth, and investments in software.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Virtually everyone has heard of the silver tsunami in America, the notion that America’s population of senior citizens is surging. There are many implications associated with a rapidly growing older population, including for healthcare, government finances, and housing. According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the number of households with people age 80 or over jumped 71 percent from 4.4 million in 1990 to 7.5 million in 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For many people, preparation for retirement largely revolves around a plan to work for as long as possible. In other words, many people are planning for retirement by planning not to have one or at least not much of one. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 33 percent of workers expect to retire between the ages of 65 and 69, and 43 percent at the age of 70, or beyond, or not at all. But such planning, if it can be called that, is far from perfect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by writer Nir Kaissar, the Government Accountability Office recently updated its sweeping 2015 report on retirement security in America. The new numbers offer no more comfort than the old ones. The most worrisome figures remain stubbornly consistent. Nearly 30 percent of households aged 55 years and older have no retirement savings and no pension. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While there’s no place like home, when it comes to retirement, that’s not always the case. Seduced by superior weather, lower taxes, or simply a change of scenery, many seniors choose to relocate upon retirement. As indicated by CNBC, more often than not, that means moving to a state like Florida, Arizona, or to the Carolinas. Fresh information emerges from SmartAsset’s annual study regarding where retirees are moving. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
According to a Gallup poll, the average working America expects to retire at the age of 66–that’s up from 63 in 2002. While a considerable amount of conventional wisdom suggests that many people will have to work well past their intended retirement age, the fact is that many people end up retiring before they thought they would. As indicated by writer Emily Brandon, a plan to work longer isn’t the same as being able to remain on the job into one’s mid-or late 60s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Here’s some optimism for you – more than half of Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, believe that they will be millionaires at some point in their lives – this according to a TD Ameritrade survey. But as indicated by a Brookings Institution report, reality could prove to be far less pleasant. According ot that report, median wealth among Millennials in 2016 was lower than among similarly aged cohorts during any year from 1989 to 2007.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by Forbes, when it comes time to pick a place for retirement, the majority of Americans end up staying put or moving within their own state. But there are many others who move to states like South Carolina, Arizona and of course Florida. There are still others who leave America altogether.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Most people appear to like simplicity. So when the question becomes “How Much Money Do I Need to Retire,” predictably, one might receive a response like how about $1 million dollars. Indeed, the one million dollar number is often floated as the amount of money a retiring household needs to retire comfortably. But while that answer comes in the form of a simple-sounding round number, raising a million dollars isn’t so easy. Indeed, few people achieve that goal. So perhaps we should abandon a certain level of simplicity in favor of precision. Anirban tells us what goes into calculating what your number should be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We often discuss the benefits that come from garnering professional advice regarding one’s finances and retirement planning. However, recent research indicates that most Americans are content simply to manage matters on their own. Despite reports indicating that many workers live paycheck to paycheck and that fewer than half of all adults would be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, the majority of Americans decline any financial help or advice. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban discussed the ----fragile decade---- and approaching retirement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Usually, we spent this time talking about preparing for retirement or living during it. Today, we take things one step further and talk about funerals. I know, not fun, but funerals can be expensive and it makes some sense to speak to the relevant economics. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When people consider how much financial wealth they will need in retirement, they may have a relatively simple time calculating things like property taxes, groceries or even travel. But healthcare costs are extremely difficult to estimate, and that makes it all the more important that people save with regularity even in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many financial advisors will tell you that you may need about a million dollars or more saved if you retire at the age of 65. So how much money does the average American have in retirement savings? As indicated by writer Eric Reed, the answer is about nothing. While sources of data differ, the broader story remains the same.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Trying to determine how much one needs to save for retirement is likely one of the most challenging computations that one faces in life. One can simply avoid such complexities by not even trying to save for retirement and living off of Social Security, but that could render retirement unpleasant. As indicated by the Retirement Living Information Center, the average Social Security payout these days is approximately $1300 per month. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The most significant trend impacting retirement is an aging population. Anirban tells us about the demographics and the potential outcomes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many of those who are presently working believe that coming generations will be worse off in retirement that the retirees of today – this according to a recent report from insurance company Aegon. This is not simply a belief among Americans, this is increasingly the view in much of the world. The most significant trend impacting retirement is an aging population. As indicated by writer Tom Sightings, in 1950, there were 205 million people over the age of 60 globally. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A new study supplied by a pair of Harvard Business School researchers finds that employers often underappreciate the struggles their employees face in balancing their professional are caregiving responsibilities. Caregiving will expand as both more children and older people come to depend on those of prime working age. Nearly three quarters of workers in America face some form of caregiving responsibility. Among those workers, 32% indicate that they have left a job because they could not balance work and family duties. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Presently, the U.S. labor market is very strong. Unemployment is low and there are nearly seven million available, unfilled jobs in America. But at some point, the economy will find its way into another recession, layoffs will rise, and unemployment will head higher. As indicated by Forbes, recent survey data indicate that older workers may bear a disproportionate share of those layoffs when they arrive. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It was Mark Twain who said “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” While that may be true, most of us still want to retire eventually. Many of us dream about early retirement. Alas, the bulk of people appear to retire in their 60s. According to SmartAsset’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, the average retirement age in America is 63-years-old. The average retirement age varies by state, with a low of 62-years-old and a high of 65-years-old. New Englanders are associated with the highest average retirement age. Anirban tells us why that may be the case.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You may be among the millions of U.S. workers who will say farewell to full time employment in 2019. Roughly 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day, the age most often associated with retirement. Of course, many people do not retire at the age of 65. Approximately 60 percent of workers had to stop working before they intended due to reasons such as layoffs or health issues according to a 2015 Voya Financial Study. If you are intending to retire this year, you will want to be able to check all the right boxes. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban comments on the geographic concentration of wealth, the fastest growing states by population, the decline in hours worked over time, education professionals leaving the workforce, and the possibility of a recession.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The tide may have finally turned for retirement savings in the U.S. According to a GoBankingRates survey, from 2016 to 2017, the percentage of Americans with nothing saved for retirement increased. But in 2018, the percentage lacking any retirement savings fell dramatically. Moreover, the percentage of those with $300,000 or more in retirement savings increased.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many of us envy those who have public pensions. Public pensions produce income during retirement – sometimes elevated levels of income that far exceed Social Security benefits. But while having a pension is wonderful, it’s not so great when there’s a governmental bankruptcy, which can put those pension benefits at risk. According to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trusts, many pension funds for public workers already owe far more in retirement benefits than they have in the bank.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As people age, the need for care rises. The population of older Americans is surging. Accordingly, an estimated forty million people in America supplied unpaid care in some form or fashion in 2014, the last year for which data are available. As indicated by writer Christian Weller in Forbes, unpaid care added an estimated $470 billion in economic value in 2013. While the provision of care is to be celebrated, there are some negative consequences. Unpaid care worsens an already large gender gap since women are more likely to be caregivers and therefore to save less due to less availability in the job market.Listen for more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let’s say that you are a recent college graduate and that you’re trying to determine how you can save for retirement while paying down your student loans. Most advisors seem to agree that at any given moment, you should be doing a bit of both – paying down your loans while saving for retirement. One of the first things you’ll want to consider is the interest rate on your student loans. When you pay down your debt, essentially, your rate of return is guaranteed. If you pay down your debt by let’s say a thousand dollars, it means that you won’t have to pay any interest on that amount into perpetuity. Still, the math is complicated. Anirban tells us why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s fair to suggest that virtually all of us would like a financially comfortable retirement. Many of us take significant steps toward achieving this goal, including setting aside money and working long hours. One of the other things we could do is pay more attention to the fees charged to our retirement accounts. These fees may appear small, but can produce large, negative impacts over time. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s fair to suggest that virtually all of us would like a financially comfortable retirement. Many of us take significant steps toward achieving this goal, including setting aside money and working long hours. One of the other things we could do is pay more attention to the fees charged to our retirement accounts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Here are some good ideas for preparing for retirement – save, invest, work longer, and wait to collect Social Security. But all of these tactics may not amount to much if you are unable to form a permanent bond with your current spouse. According to new findings from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, when all is said and done, ending a marriage can be nearly as destructive to your retirement savings as say the Great Recession was. Divorce implies legal fees, splitting assets in two, and shifting from a two-income household to a one-income household.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One of the reasons that many of us have failed to save adequately for retirement is that we love to purchase new cars. It is of course tempting to immerse oneself in that new car smell, as well as to find oneself benefiting from new technology like heated steering wheels, Bluetooth, and automatic braking. The average car payment in the U.S. is estimated at $523 per month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you intend to work for income after you retire, you need to be aware of how your Social Security income may be taxed. In a recent AARP survey, thirty-seven percent of people indicated that they plan to work either full or part time during retirement. As indicated by Fidelity Investments, many older workers believe that working after retirement can supply valuable structure to their day and provide the mental stimulation that emerges from interacting with clients and co-workers. There are of course those who intend to work in retirement out of financial necessity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by CNBC, overall inflation in the United States averaged 2.1 percent during the first half of 2018. But the annual median cost of a room at an assisted living facility is expanding by a rate closer to seven percent. Genworth Financial reports that the average annual cost of a private room in a nursing home recently surged past the six-figure mark. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When we discuss delayed retirement, we often fixate on factors such as inadequate savings. But there are other explanations for why people are working for many more years than they anticipated, including policy changes made to Social Security during the early 1980s. As indicated by writer Peter Orszag, in 1997, 57 percent of men claiming their retirement benefits were 62 years old, the earliest age at which one can do that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Here is a shocking forecast. Nearly half of middle class Americans face a slide into poverty as they enter retirement – this according to a recent study conducted by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School. The risk of losing middle class status in retirement has been driven by a number of factors, including depressed earnings and rising health care costs. This is causing 74 percent of Americans to plan to work past traditional retirement age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As indicated by writer Diane Oakley writing in Forbes Magazine, nearly 20 million working Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 have no money in 401k retirement accounts and lack a pension. These near-retirees have little time to reap the benefits of compound interest to help expand their nest eggs at a time when interest rates are still quite low. With these forces working against them, financial advisors frequently recommend that these folks keep working, in part to avoid drawing on Social Security until they reach full retirement age of later. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The notion of a retirement crisis is bandied about rather frequently. Behind that crisis are real people who face some very difficult choices. As pointed out by The Atlantic, many people reaching retirement age lack pensions and often have not put enough money into their 401ks or other retirement accounts to live on once they retire. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, the median savings in a 401k plan for people between the ages of 55 and 64 is presently just $15,000. Anirban has more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are so many rules of thumb to guide one’s retirement. Here’s another. You will need 70 to 80 percent of your pre-retirement income to live comfortably once you depart the workforce. In other words, your income won’t need to be as high in retirement as it was when you were working. That’s because once you retire, your expenses will presumably fall. But as indicated by USNews, many financial experts advise against adhering to such advice. Anirban has more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many people think about saving a million dollars for retirement. A considerable body of conventional wisdom suggests that a million dollars makes for a happy retirement, though like all rules of thumbs, this one is imperfect. When discussing savings, people and their advisors often discuss 401ks, 403bs, IRAs, or other financial savings vehicles. Anirban has more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
According to Northwest Mutual's 2018 planning and progress study, 78 percent of Americans indicate that they are concerned about not having enough money for retirement. Anirban tells us that there's good reason for this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In a survey of workers from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies featured by CNBC, 56 percent of respondents indicated that they have not fully recovered from the Great Recession. 37 percent say that they have recovered somewhat, but 12 percent say that they have not begun to recover and seven percent suggest that they may never recover. Anirban has more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you are in your fifties or sixties, you may have begun to pay closer attention to commercials regarding annuities, Medicare Part B, or those ads featuring Tom Selleck talking about reverse mortgages. You are not alone. Financial advisors suggest that many of us abruptly awaken to the realities of retirement about five years or so prior to its onset. While such awareness can be jarring, most advisors consider the panic attacks that occur several years prior to retirement helpful.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More than 40 percent of Americans are at risk of going broke in retirement. And that's the good news. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let’s say you are in your forties and you haven’t been saving for retirement. Experts suggest that you had better get busy–now. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average American 44 to 49 years old has a bit more than $81,000 in retirement savings. But that figure is heavily impacted by certain forty-somethings who have managed to save a lot of money for retirement already. Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As reported by Bloomberg, each year, Vanguard Group releases its review regarding the state of retirement savings. The review focuses on 401ks, 403bs, and other defined contribution plans that allow people to set aside money for retirement and often defer taxes in the process. The report, entitled ----How America Saves 2018,---- is replete with data, charts and interesting analytics. It is also packed with some good news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You might have thought that you would be safe from discussion about Russia during a retirement segment. You were wrong. A newly proposed policy announced as many were watching the Russian national team defeat Saudi Arabia five to nil during the opening game of the World Cup would raise the Russian state pension age from sixty to sixty-five for men by twenty-twenty eight and from fifty five to sixty-three for women by twenty-thirty four.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Turns out that the Millennial generation, which is largely comprised of twenty- and thirty-somethings, aren’t so different from the rest of us after all – well, at least in certain ways. A recent Bankrate.com survey asked Millennials, who for these purposes are classified as Americans ages eighteen to thirty-seven, what the perfect time to retire would be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For generations, the nation has relied upon family members to keep aging loved ones in their homes and to supply needed care. But today, many Americans are growing older without family nearby, resulting in an unprecedented caregiving crunch. As indicated by writer Clare Ansberry, the caregiving crunch comes at a time when many Americans reaching retirement age are in a financial squeeze not experienced by some prior generations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban shares research on the economic and personal considerations caregivers face.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We often focus in this segment on optimal savings behavior. But there are other strategies available to us with respect to retirement preparation, including not retiring or at least postponing retirement. That is the message behind a new and provocative study entitled the ----Power of Working Longer.---- Anirban tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anirban tells us about a sobering report that finds that people living in 15 different nations don't have the retirement information that they should.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For the first time since Harry Truman was president, Americans are set to reach retirement age in worse financial shape than the prior generation. The group of Americans approaching retirement is associated with high average debt, in part because they are still paying off their children’s educations and/or dipping into savings to support aging parents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reports indicating just how little many Americans have saved for retirement keep on coming. Northwestern Mutual’s 2018 Planning and Progress Study, based on a survey of approximately 2,000 adults, found that 21 percent of Americans have nothing saved at all for their golden years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Last week, we featured an article authored by Teresa Ghilarducci and Tony James that appeared in the Harvard Business Review. The article focuses largely upon how the shift from defined benefit pension plans to 401Ks has placed many workers at risk for financially treacherous retirements. That article is so incredibly endowed with information, I thought it worthwhile to speak to some of its other conclusions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One of the most difficult aspects of preparing for retirement is projecting one’s future living costs. After all, it’s not easy to determine how much inflation there will be or how your lifestyle or health will change. According to the Nationwide Retirement Institute, 44 percent of workers aged 50 and over believe that their living expenses will stay the same one they leave their careers behind.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You may have heard of the so-called gig economy – the one in which people earn money not at regular jobs, but by occasionally engaging in activities that generate income for them. Recent research indicates that the gig economy is particularly important to growing numbers of retirees, who are looking to expand their incomes without committing themselves to a demanding employer. According to a 2017 Prudential Financial survey, approximately 31 percent of workers who only work in the gig economy are baby boomers. Listen to learn more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As we discussed last week, there is a conventional wisdom that one needs about $1 million to retire comfortably, that may or may not be true. Given that many Americans have literally nothing saved for retirement, a million dollars sounds like plenty. But according to a new report from personal finance site GoBankingRates, depending on where one lives, retirees could blow through that one million dollar nest egg in as little as 12 years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Every once in a while, an organization will publish their rankings of the best and worst states or cities for retirement. Bankrate recently did just that, ranking the nation’s fifty largest metropolitan areas. Bankrate considered a host of factors, including cost of living, taxes, crime healthcare, public transit, weather, things to do, and the percent of population sixty-five or older. Get the results in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A report from the National Institute on Retirement Security entitled 'Millennials and Retirement: Already Falling Short,' further contributes to our collective understand of how vast the nation’s retirement crisis has become. The analysis finds that 66 percent of working Millennials have nothing saved for retirement, and the situation is far worse for Millennial Latinos. Among Latinos, about 5 in 6 Millennials who are working have nothing saved for retirement. The report further indicates that a bit more than a third of Millennials actually participates in employer-sponsored retirement plans despite the fact that two-thirds of Millennials work for employers offering such plans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Many of us plan retirement for years. We contribute to our 401ks. We pick out a place in Florida. We tell our kids and grandkids that it’s going to be ok, but that they’re going to have to take care of themselves from now on. And then the day comes – we retire – and then, sometimes, we decide, that retirement is just not for us. Economists refer to this lifestyle U-turn as unretirement. As indicated by writer Paul Span, unretirement is becoming more common. A twenty ten analysis by a Harvard Medical School economist found that more than a quarter of retirees later resumed working. A more recent survey conducted by the RAND Corporation published in twenty-seventeen found that nearly forty percent of workers over the age of sixty-five had at some point previously retired. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides further evidence of the prevalence of unretirement and the desire or need among many to keep working. The Pew research indicates that the proportion of Americans over the age of sixty-five who were employed full or part time had climbed to nearly nineteen percent by twenty sixteen, up from less than thirteen percent in the year two thousand. Many economists agree that even more people might resume working if they can find attractive options. Among those options is driving for companies like Uber or Lyft. It’s also worth noting that people often work not for money, but for satisfaction. Two thirds of older workers report satisfaction in work well done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A recent Forbes article concludes that there are 8.5 million older workers and their spouses who will experience downward mobility in retirement absent some deviation from current trend. Who are these endangered 8.5 million?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There continues to be much discussion regarding America’s retirement crisis. Far too many people lack adequate retirement savings, and face diminished living standards once they stop working. In response, there has been a move toward automatic enrollment in employer-sponsored retirement plans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Earlier this year, it appeared that something quite rare was about to occur. One of the fifty U.S. states, Washington State, was striving to pass a bill that would have instituted a new payroll tax to help cover the cost of long term care, whether in a nursing home, a residence, or elsewhere in a community. But alas it was not meant to be. None other than the American Association of Retired Persons came out against the legislation citing a variety of unanswered questions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Efforts to keep older Americans in the workforce longer could help combat America’s high rates of old age poverty and also reducing inequality—this according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD. The Paris-based think tank provides advice on the best policies to follow to its 35 member governments. The report calls upon America to support longer careers for all socioeconomic groups as a way to diminish old-age poverty without placing additional strain on pension systems.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You are probably not looking for a reason to retire early. The reason is fairly obvious. Early retirement may be much more pleasant that working well into one’s 60s or 70s or beyond. But here’s another reason that renders early retirement more appealing – it could lengthen your life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
To stretch out one’s retirement savings, one may have to eventually move to a lower cost city. Many people from the northeast United States end up moving to the American South, with one of the major factors being warmer weather. But that’s hardly the only factor. States like North and South Carolina tend to have costs of living far beneath what one contends with in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey or Maryland. One of the difficulties in understanding differential costs of living in various areas is a dearth of comparable data.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years regarding America’s retirement savings crisis. One might think that a significant fraction of this crisis has been resolved by a booming stock market, with the logic being that 401Ks and 403Bs have been sufficiently stimulated to better position Americans for their golden years. But data indicate that rising or falling stock prices have little impact on the income of wealth of most families. The reason? They own little or no stock.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Let’s say that you are thirty years old. If you are, I am already not that fond of you, but let’s set that aside. You may be wondering as a young person with much to look forward to how you should be preparing for the balance of your financial life, including retirement. The first piece of advice would be to avoid mimicking the behavior of the majority...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.