Retirement Blog

About two-thirds of America’s grandparents have give financial support to their grandchildren in the last five years — 40 percent for general uses and 26 percent for education, says recent research from the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
The poll found that the less money people have, the more likely that they are going to be spending a

Disability throws a wrench into many people’s retirement planning. Three in 10 workers will become too disabled to work before they are ready for retirement, the Social Security Administration calculates. A study by Northwestern Mutual, which sells annuities and disability insurance, finds that a two-year disability at the age of 50 can reduce total investment

This week a lot of the retirement news involved gigantic, scary numbers. On Wednesday morning, the crew on CNBC’s Squawk Box broke the news that American workers are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire. That number assumes a 3 percent rate of return on assets, no changes in pension coverage and no

Insurers are pushing hard for the inclusion of annuities in employer-sponsored retirement plans. This week, representatives from all the largest insurance and other financial service companies are testifying before  the Labor and Treasury departments on whether new laws should encourage an annuity option in 401(k)s.
Spokesmen for MetLife and Prudential Financial made the case that workers

Here is some high-end retirement planning advice — for people who are going to pay through the nose when the government gets done with tax reform.
Cash-balance retirement plans aren’t for everyone, but if you own a small business or are a self-employed, high-earning professional, a cash-balance plan will let you put aside the most tax-advantaged

Beetle Bailey mustered into the army 60 years ago this month. He’s still a private, still taking guff from Sarge, and his creator Mort Walker says neither he nor Beetle is likely to fade into retirement anytime soon.
Walker, who turned 88 a few days ago, has been drawing the perpetual private since he was a

A veteran’s retirement benefit called Aid and Attendance has been around for nearly 60 years, but is largely overlooked and could be a great retirement planning tool for people who don’t think they can afford long-term care insurance.
Any veteran who served at least one day during World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam or the

Today is National 401(k) Day. If you run out to buy a card, make it a sympathy card because the advent of the 401(k) as a primary retirement savings plan is nothing to celebrate.
The 401(k) will turn 30 in January 2011. It was devised as a way for workers to augment conventional, defined-benefit plan pensions.

You have a retirement savings account at work and every time you look at it you groan. Join the club. The brave new world of being your own retirement planning strategist can be ulcer-producing.
Take it a step at a time. The first step toward smart retirement planning is opening a retirement savings account and managing

Sometimes, the best  retirement planning goes haywire. And sometimes that’s not such a bad thing.
Over Labor Day weekend, I waved hello to my Detroit-area neighbor and remarked that I hadn’t seen much of him. He said that’s because he’s gone back to work after officially retiring in June 2009.
My neighbor’s employer ran into trouble after