Category: Pensions & Retirement
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
How Ben Bernanke Is Destroying Your Retiremen / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
Uncle Sam has an unfunded pension liability of $800 billion.
Corporate pension funds have an unfunded liability around $400 billion.
State and local pension funds have an unfunded liability in the tony neighborhood of $3 trillion.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Cold, Hard Facts Behind Funding Your Retirement / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
Many folks are afraid they simply won't be able to retire – or stay retired – when and how they planned. We can talk about retiring later, taking a part-time job, and cutting back on expenses, but those are only partial solutions. Of the seniors who are still working, very few are earning as much as they did at their peak. Their life savings still needs to make up the difference.
I receive a lot of letters from very concerned baby boomers and retirees who are watching their principal erode every year, but they don't know what to do about it. Unfortunately, some have unrealistic expectations.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Benefits Cuts and Higher Taxes for Seniors in Obama Budget / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
Some people claim that our Social Security system isn't broke. Technically, they're right. The Old Age andSurvivors Trust Fund (OASI) currently holds $2.5 trillion in special government Treasuries that can be redeemed at any time – in theory of course.
But here's the catch. What happens when the OASI needs those trillions of dollars to pay out benefits? Essentially, the government has to find the money to pay the face value of those Treasuries. So from that standpoint, Social Security is broke. The Treasury IOUs are not backed by any cash surplus, only by faith that the US government will somehow come up with the cash... probably by indebting itself further or by raising taxes.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
Why Are So Many Seniors Still Working? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
By Dennis Miller Go into any fast food restaurant or retail store and you’ll find a lot of seniors working for minimum wage. Here’s why.
When personal computers hit the scene, numerous retirement-planning programs quickly became available. You entered your personal financial information, along with yield and inflation projections, and the computer would tell you how long your retirement nest egg would last.
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Obama Turns America’s Retirement Dreams into Nightmares / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: If you think the U.S. government will not - or cannot - seize your money the way the government in Cyprus is doing, check out page 18 of the President's Proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Budget of the U.S. Government.
That's exactly what he intends to do.
Not years from now. Not decades from now.
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Thursday, April 18, 2013
Retirement Nightmare: Underfunded Pensions Want to Chop Your Benefits by 60% / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes: Unions, employers and the federal government have finally come up with an answer for the nation's underfunded pension plans, many of which are headed for bankruptcy.
Take the money from the retirees.
The proposal would erase the guarantees created under the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and allow underfunded pension plans to reduce monthly benefits for both future and current retirees.
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Monday, April 08, 2013
US Government To Decide How Much Is Enough For Your Retirement / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Jeff_Berwick
Welcome to the new US. Socialism always has the same predictable process. Once the government collectivizes a sector then the politicos and bureaucrats get to work on "improving the system". In a private enterprise, that'd mean offering more to your customers for a cheaper price. In government, it is always the opposite, finding ways to reduce benefits for their "customers".
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Wealth Management Retirement Strategies to Reconsider / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyGainsLetter
John Whitefoot writes: From home repairs, to fixing cars, to crafts, publishing, and decorating—in a do-it-yourself culture, nothing is out of bounds. Thanks to low interest rates and underperforming assets with terrible returns, many who are on the cusp of retirement are looking after their own retirement plans in an effort to boost their retirement income. Meanwhile, those already in retirement are looking for ways to sustain their savings.
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Monday, March 25, 2013
Fed’s Actions Makes for a Retirement / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: InvestmentContrarian
George Leong writes: On the surface, the Federal Reserve’s objective is to make sure America doesn’t fall into ruins. Following an aggressive strategy of monetary easing, the end result is interest rates at nearly zero percent and an endless flow of easy money. As I have already stated many times in these pages, the Federal Reserve has created an artificial economy.
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Captaining Your Own Retirement Ship / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
When Kerry Lutz turned off the recorder after interviewing me for the Financial Survival Network a few weeks ago, we started talking about a common challenge we both face: getting an entire generation to wake up and see that we have a real problem.
Most seniors and savers readily admit that interest rates are terrible and don't keep up with inflation, yet – even with the terrible squeeze this puts on their pocketbooks – Kerry and I know of too many people who think their nest egg will manage itself. After working a lifetime to build up their portfolios, many retirees are looking for a "set it and forget it" type of investment that no longer exists.
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Friday, March 01, 2013
American Companies Drowning Under Pension Liabilities / Companies / Pensions & Retirement
By: InvestmentContrarian
Sasha Cekerevac writes: When it comes to long-term investing, many focus solely on revenues and earnings. While clearly these are extremely important fundamentals when conducting a stock analysis, one rarely mentioned but critical variable is pension liabilities.
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Thursday, February 14, 2013
Pensions Catastrophe, Government Tricks Digging a Very Deep Hole / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: John_Mauldin
“The government is the prisoner of the bureaucracy. We have 4,021 associations and 6,200 codes. You simply cannot change things. There are 600,000 tax elements. No one really knows who pays what.” – A journalist in Greece
For all the focus on the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare, there is another unfunded crisis brewing, and this one is in your own back yard. It’s coming to you even if you live outside of the US; it just might take a little longer to get there. I wrote ten years ago that state and local pension funds might be underfunded by as much as $2 trillion. It turns out that I was being overly optimistic. New government research suggests that the figure might be as high as $3 trillion. But what if you take into account that retirees are living longer? An IMF study that we’ll look at in a few minutes does just that. And if we live a lot longer? Oh my. The problems are not universal – some cities and states will do fine, while others are already in deep kimchee – but it’s a big problem and getting worse.
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
FSA Plans to Review UK Retirement Annuity Pricing / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Following the announcement that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to conduct a thematic review into annuity pricing, research by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts highlights the financial detriment that consumers could suffer in retirement as a result of their failure to shop around for the best annuity.
The table below highlights the difference between the most competitive annuity and least competitive annuity deals currently available to retirees at a variety of different ages.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Pensions, The Last Remaining Store Of Real Wealth / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Yeah, The Last Remaining Store Of Real Wealth is somewhat tongue in cheek. I'm talking about pensions here, and despite the fact that hundreds of millions of people, especially in the west world, count on the pensions they pay into year after year for decades, to be there for them when they reach a certain age - which gets pushed forward all the time, talk about Receding Horizons! -, I've long since said that for most that is not going to happen. But many still see it that way: The Last Remaining Store Of Real Wealth.
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Wednesday, January 09, 2013
UK Pension Annuity Income Suffers Biggest Fall Since 1998 / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
New research by Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed that the average annual income generated by a standard annuity for a 65-year old male fell by 11.5% during 2012. This is the biggest annual fall since 1998, when annuity income fell by an average of 13.7% (see Table 1 below).
The equivalent annuity income for a female dropped by 6.1% in 2012, a fall that was cushioned by the uplift that females received on the switch over to gender neutral pricing from 21 December 2012.
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Saturday, December 08, 2012
U.S. Looming Pensions Crisis: State Budgets Soon to Be Under Siege / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: John_Mauldin
In 2003, I was writing about the unfunded liabilities of state and local pensions. It was part of Bull’s Eye Investing, which came out in 2004. I caught some flak for being so pessimistic about the potential problems. Quoting:
Unless steps are taken soon, it is possible we can see shortfalls approaching $1 trillion–$2 trillion in state-sponsored pension funds within 10 years. A deficit of this size on the state level can truly be called a crisis. A tax increase or other adjustments to fund this will be a large drag on the economy.
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
How to Save Your Wealth From U.S. Government Retirement Heist / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Jeff_Berwick
Here at TDV we have the unfortunate role of being the messenger—and you know what happens to the messenger. The monkeys in pants always jump on him, stones in hand, and try to bash his brains out for bringing them a little bit of reality.
In December, 2010, we penned a dispatch called “Americans Retirement Funds at Serious Risk” wherein we concluded by stating: “Keeping retirement funds inside of tax-sheltered accounts, which the US government will soon look to as the next source of funds to try to pay off its mountain of debt and keeping retirement funds in US dollar-based 'assets' is putting your retirement and future at great risk.”
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Probability Theory and Retirement Portfolios, Jumping into the Suicide Pool / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: John_Mauldin
“By ‘uncertain’ knowledge, let me explain, I do not mean merely to distinguish what is known for certain from what is only probable. The game of roulette is not subject, in this sense, to uncertainty; nor is the prospect of a Victory bond being drawn. Or, again, the expectation of life is only slightly uncertain. Even the weather is only moderately uncertain. The sense in which I am using the term is that in which the prospect of a European war is uncertain, or the price of copper and the rate of interest twenty years hence, or the obsolescence of a new invention, or the position of private wealth owners in the social system in 1970. About these matters there is no scientific basis on which to form any calculable probability whatever.”
Friday, September 07, 2012
'About To Be Retired' Persons Views / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Ian_R_Campbell
In a survey of Canadians now between 50 - 60 years old, said to have an statistical error rate of not more than 3.5%:
-
on average 53% said they planned to work following retirement; and,
-
almost 50% said they had retirement savings of under $100,000.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Retirement Crisis, the Demise of Global Pension Plans / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Raul_I_Meijer
We have been saying for a long time that anyone in the western world who's 10-15 years away from collecting their first pension payments, shouldn't expect to get much, if anything, when the time comes. This is because, obviously, the economy has deteriorated as much as it has. It's also because, in essence, pensions plans are the ultimate Ponzi schemes.
What doesn't help are the central bank and government policies that are in fashion today that are based on pushing interest rates about as low as they can get.
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
Get Rid of Your IRA, Don't put Gold or anything else in it / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
One of the categories is "retirement." There is a lot of interest in retirement issues. One of them is what assets should go into an IRA.
I say "None." This is not a popular answer. I add, "especially gold." This is also unpopular.
Over the years, I have published articles on my site explaining these answers. But some subscribers do not use the search engine to locate these articles. Others do not believe me. Still others talk it over with their accountants. Their accountants offer rival views. Then they post a question that reflects their accountants' views.
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Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Forget Retirement... and Retirement Savings / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Jeff_Berwick
You've been sold a bill of goods for the last four to six decades. You've been told that nation-states, democracy and socialism is good. You've been told our monetary system prevents instability. And, while the government and central banks put your unborn children or grandchildren into debt for life they've been telling you that there will be a socialist safety net to protect you and that the "American dream" includes retiring in your 50s or 60s to a wonderful life of golf and lying on the beach.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Seniors Worried about the Debt They Are Passing on to Their Heirs? / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Paul_L_Kasriel
I recently celebrated my 65th birthday, which allowed me to become eligible for Medicare. On May 1, I will begin collecting Social Security benefits. I was curious to see what has been happening to combined federal expenditures on Social Security and Medicare in relation to total federal expenditures excluding those for national defense. My curiosity was satisfied by the data in Chart 1.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Doing the Roth IRA Conversion Arithmetic / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Terry_Coxon
Terry Coxon, Casey Research writes: It's clear to me, even though it may not be clear to you, that unless there is something very unusual about your situation, if you have a traditional IRA, you should pay the tax now and convert it to a Roth IRA. Not just maybe, but definitely. Not just for a small advantage but for a big one. If you don't convert today, you'll ultimately surrender much more to the tax collector. You'll be throwing money away. And you'll keep throwing it away. It's a result neither of us wants.
Friday, April 06, 2012
Public Pension Funds: Tens of Billions at Significant Risk / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: EWI
To meet ambitious investment return targets, some public pension funds must now swing for the fences.
But many are down two strikes already, due to their previous big bets with hedge funds.
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Before Making That IRA Contribution, Make Sure Your Pension Plan Assets are Safe / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Larry D. Spears writes:
The middle of April is fast approaching and everyone knows what that means - time to get those 2011 income tax returns filled out and filed.
What few people realize is that they also have until Monday, April 16, to open a new individual retirement account (IRA) for 2011 or make your annual contribution to an existing one.
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Monday, February 20, 2012
Flexible Pension Drawdown Choice Widens / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Less than a year after its introduction, flexible drawdown is available on around three quarters of SIPP plans, research by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed.
When the April 2011 start date for the facility was confirmed, providers wanting to offer the option at the earliest opportunity had just four months in which to prepare, leading to predictions that only the more fleet of foot specialist SIPP providers might be able to prepare in time.
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Monday, November 28, 2011
How to Retire With No Savings / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: "Do you have any savings?" I asked my friend Tony.
"Not really, no," he answered.
Tony is in his 50s. And he didn't sound worried in the least. How is that possible?
Monday, November 21, 2011
Baby Boomer Blindness, Forget Retirement / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
"MarketWatch" ran an article on the attitudes of retired Americans ages 55 to 75. The title is accurate: "Retirees are confident, but workers can't retire." But the subtitle points to the problem facing these people: "Retirees' finances recover, but one-in-four workers plan to work until 80."
The article reports on two surveys. The first is a survey of over 1,500 retirees in 2008 and 2011. These people had $100,000 or more of investable assets in 2008. Age range: 55 to 75. Think about this. Some of these people had retired at age 55. This is surely not a normal segment of the population. Second, they had at least $100,000 to invest. Is this sample representative of retired Americans?
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Taxpayers Forget Retirement / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
If you are still a taxpayer, you are Atlas. I am Atlas. There will come a time when Atlas will shrug. I have written about this before: When will he shrug? Before I can answer this, I want to discuss another factor, compound economic growth
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Retirement Is Death, Don't Do It, Even If You Can Afford To / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
Several years ago, I acquired a Web domain address, www.neversayretire.com. I had concluded that millions of baby boomers would discover at age 65, much to their chagrin, that their plans for a comfortable retirement had been smashed by the reality of low economic growth, low returns from the stock market, their own insufficient savings programs for decades, and inflation. I figured that I might create a Website based on the theme, "never say retire." I have not developed that site, but at least I set up a department on my Website. So, if anyone types the words "never say retire," he is directed to my department.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Extinction of Retirement / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Michael_Pento
For the better part of a century the foundations for a semi-comfortable retirement for many Americans have rested on the financial pillars of rising real estate and equity prices, positive real interest rates on savings, the continued solvency of public and private pension plans, and the reliability of national entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicaid). But in the last few years, the economic sands have fundamentally shifted and these pillars are no longer sturdy, some have cracked completely. For many Americans, the traditional idea of a comfortable retirement, filled with golf carts, cruises, and fishing trips, is going the way of the dodo bird.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Seized Pensions & Quantitative Easing / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Adrian_Ash
A government-run pension fund manager – hardly fills you with confidence, does it...?
AS EVERY BRITISH ADULT well knows, the UK government long since forgot to save a penny of his or her lifetime's National Insurance contributions.
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Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Cushion Your Retirement by Investing in IRAs / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Larry D. Spears writes: If I were to recommend a stock and guarantee a return of 10% to 28% on your investment in a single day, you'd no doubt line up at your broker's door to place your orders.
But then why do so many people fail to make the maximum contribution to their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)? After all, in its traditional version, an IRA offers exactly the same return, depending on your personal tax bracket.
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Day of Gold-Plated Public Sector Pensions are Numbered / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Arnold_Bock
Public sector employees, the workforce ‘elite’ led by state and municipal workers, are now storming legislative chambers to preserve their special status. Wisconsin is the current case study in what happens when the government, a monopoly service provider, confronts the fact that the taxpayer is tapped out and can’t take it anymore – when there simply isn’t enough money. Those realities are going to result in major adjustments in worker incomes, future pensions and benefits and their overall standard of living. Let me explain.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Pension Lies Lead to Riots / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Barry_M_Ferguson
In truth, almost all pensions are a lie.
The pension that comes to mind for most of us in the US is Social Security. A tax is deducted from our paychecks to fund the pension. By law, when the program takes in more than it pays out (as it did from 1982 thru 2009), it has to loan the excess to the federal government. The federal government is obligated to pay this amount back with interest when the program faces a shortfall. In 2010, it faced a shortfall. It is expected to face a shortfall in 2011. In addition to all its other debt, the federal Government now owes the Social Security Trust Fund (the account to which surpluses are loaned) some $2.5 trillion dollars. Surpluses are projected to return for the next few years but then from 2015 on, the program is expected to face deficits.
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Four Steps to a Richer Retirement / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
Take a quick survey of the retirement landscape and things look pretty darn dire.
According to a survey conducted by Wells Fargo last month, the average American has managed to save a meager 7 percent of the amount they’d like to have in their Golden Years.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
UK Annuity Rates Down 2.7% in 2010 Despite Late Rally / / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
The record number of individuals turning 65 this year are likely to face a major challenge when they come to secure their retirement income after research from Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts revealed that annuity rates fell for the third consecutive year in 2010.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Liquidate IRAs and 401Ks or Suffer Grievous Losses / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Mac_Slavo
As government ramps up spending and continues its attempts to stimulate the US economy, Americans are being further burdened with an irreversible debt liability. The fact of the matter is that US government tax revenues, which are roughly $4 trillion per year, are nowhere close to providing the amount of money that government needs for current and future expenditures.
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Tuesday, December 07, 2010
American Retirement Funds at Serious Risk of Being Seized / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Jeb_Handwerger
The news of Hungary effectively seizing private pension fund assets to pay for the debt obligations of the state last week should come as yet another reminder of the urgent need to get tax-sheltered retirement savings away from the clutches of the state before it's too late. Hungary is just the latest country to decide that it's citizens retirement savings are the property of the state.
Monday, October 25, 2010
French Students Instead of Rioting Should Celebrate Pension Reform / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: MISES
François Melese writes: Images of angry French students burning vehicles and demonstrating in the streets fill the world's TV screens. Sadly, several young demonstrators have been seriously injured. French youth may be gathering in the streets, and yet the fight is not over education or job-training policies but about a pension reform that postpones retirement.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
U.S. Government Confiscating Retirement Accounts / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
The Social Security System went into red ink mode this year. I predicted last January that this would happen. My video is here.
More money is now flowing out of the Social Security Administration to recipients than is flowing in through FICA taxes and interest payments to the SSA Trust Fund from the U.S. Treasury's general fund.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 07, 2010
The Asset Allocation Model And Pension Value Investing / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Christopher_Quigley
Academic Background - “In 1986, Gary Brinson L. Randolph Hood, and Gilbert L. Beebower (BHB) published a study about asset allocation of 91 large pension funds measured from 1974 to 1983. They replaced the pension funds' stock, bond, and cash selections with corresponding market indexes. The indexed quarterly returns were found to be higher than pension plan's actual quarterly return. The two quarterly return series' linear correlation was measured at 96.7%, with shared variance of 93.6%. A 1991 follow-up study by Brinson, Singer, and Beebower measured a variance of 91.5%.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Retirement Investors Take Advantage of the Greatest Government Tax Loophole Ever / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
On December 31, 2010, the government will close an amazing loophole... one that affects 60% of the U.S. population.
In an attempt to collect taxes today to pay for its excesses, the government is promising to never tax our retirement money in the future. Let me explain...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Retirement Distress as Annuity Rates Hit All Time Lows / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
The prospects of securing a comfortable retirement have taken a further blow with news that pension annuity rates have hit an all time low.
Research from Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed that annuity rates have fallen steadily over the summer months following a spate of re-pricing activity amongst providers.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Reader's Question: Will the Gov't Confiscate my 401K and Should I take My Money Out? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: JD_Rosendahl
I absolutely love getting great money questions. It might be my favorite thing about blogging about money, investments, trends, and strategies. Recently, I wrote a blog: More people tapping 401(k)s . In that blog, I wrote about unfortunate reasons why people are taking premature distributions from their 401K plans. A reader responded to that blog with a very well thought out and pro-active question:Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Perils of Tapping a 401(k) / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
Fidelity just released a new report and it’s pretty depressing.
The upshot? A record number of Americans are making hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) retirement plans. Worse yet, the number of U.S. workers borrowing from their plans is also at a 10-year high!
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Gold Falls with Stocks & Euro as Yen Hits 15-Year High / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Adrian_Ash
THE SPOT PRICE of wholesale gold dropped to a 7-session low Tuesday lunchtime in London, as world stock markets fell hard in thin trade and the Japanese Yen reached a new 15-year high vs. the Dollar.
"Monday was about as quiet as it gets," says one London bullion dealer in a note.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The New Auto IRA Is Just Highway Robbery / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Ron_Holland
First They Destroy Private Healthcare in America – Yes, the socialist Democrats won their first battle to destroy the private healthcare system in the US but the automatic IRA bill now in Congress is their next attack to also control, confiscate and destroy the private retirement system. Ultimately, nationalizing healthcare is designed to create a major new government revenue stream by replacing private health insurance with a nationalized, mandatory, government program and their goal is identical with your retirement plan.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010
Will the Pension Time Bomb Set Off a Crime Explosion? / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Justice_Litle
When state and local budgets fall short, services are cut. That means critical services like police and fire and transport... and with the pension crisis looming, the unkindest cuts of all still lay ahead.
Diane Cunningham of Colorado Springs, Colo., no longer has a flat-screen television. She decided to sell it... so she could buy a shotgun.
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Saturday, August 07, 2010
Pensions Liabilities Problem and China Instability / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: John_Mauldin
August Surprise from Obama?
The Problem with Pensions
Whither China?
Sadly, I find myself with more than enough time to compose yet another Thoughts from the Frontline in an airport, as a flight booking error has me at JFK for six hours instead of fishing in Maine. Details for those interested or amused at the end. But it does allow me to offer you a peek into a very sobering report on how badly underfunded public pension are. The situation is worse than you think. Then we will close with a eye-opening report on China from the gracious Simon Hunt, who is allowing me to reprint his latest missive in toto. You really want to read this one. And we start with this rumor from Reuters, just in. Read this and weep. It comes from James Pethokoukis.
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Friday, July 23, 2010
An Easy Solution to a Retirement Inflation Worry / Companies / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Dr. David Eifrig, writes: "I'm worried, Doc... I hear so much talk on television about the government printing money and destroying the dollar."
Like many retirees, my friend Chris is worried about government spending... about taxes... about Social Security... and about inflation destroying his nest egg.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Retirement Planning, Why the "100 Minus Your Age" Rule is Wrong / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Tom Dyson writes: The other day, a millionaire asked me to construct a retirement portfolio for her...
Unfortunately, I don't have the right government certifications for this type of work, so I had to refuse the job. But it got me thinking...
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
State Pension Woes Only Worsening … / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
I know some investors right now who are making major mistakes when it comes to retirement planning …
First, they have been consistently underestimating how much money they’ll need down the line. In essence they are pretending that inflation doesn’t exist …
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Sunday, June 20, 2010
Retirement Armageddon: The Video Seminar / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
Most people have heard some of the bad news. They have not heard it without the sugar coating. The reality is grim. How grim? Watch the video.
The sad thing is this: those who are most likely to be adversely affected are trapped. Some have retired. Others plan to, on the assumption that their retirement portfolios will sustain them. Yet their portfolios are in sad shape. They will have to sell assets in order to live comfortably.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Social Security and Retirement Planning Dilemmas and Obstacles / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
I’m getting so many reader questions about my parents’ Social Security and retirement, I could write a book about them.
You want to know:
What are my parents planning for their retirement?
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Is Your IRA or 401K a Target of Government Appropriation? / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Lorimer_Wilson
By: Chris Blasi - Will the laws and rules in place to protect individuals in their attempt to set something aside for retirement be safeguarded by the representatives elected to advocate for them in Washington? Will the principles and moral integrity of the political class keep them from appropriating the trillions of dollars held in 401k's and IRA's? I'm not so sure!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Why Should Your Children Pay for My Retirement? / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
For the same reason that my children will pay for yours: because the government has offered them a deal: it will pay for our retirement.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Conquer the Crash, What To Do With Your Pension Plan / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: EWI
Enjoy your 8 free chapters from Prechter's Conquer the Crash -- the book that foresaw what others have missed.
By Editorial Staff
There is no question that Robert Prechter’s Conquer the Crash foresaw and explained nearly every chapter of today's financial crisis, years before it happened. Enjoy your 8 free chapters from the book with this free Club EWI report; here's a quick excerpt from chapter 23, "What To Do With Your Pension Plan." Note especially the last two paragraphs.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
More Pensions and Retirement Disasters / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
I can’t believe the number of frightening retirement stories I’ve seen in just the last week. They suggest that the vast majority of our country’s citizens are completely unprepared for life after work. They point to a governmental backup system that is getting ever more desperate. And they suggest that other traditional sources of retirement income — such as corporate pensions — are in grave danger of imploding.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Prepare for Slim Pension Annuities / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Fred_Sheehan
Barclays Capital recently published its annual Equity Gilt Study. The paper includes data for asset returns in the United Kingdom back to 1899 and in the United States since 1925.
In the February 12, 2010 edition of the Financial Times, columnist John Authers wrote a summary of Barclays' conclusions. In Authers' words: "Barclays chose to look at how the bubbles of the past 10 years developed. Economic factors do not much help.... Rather, these bubbles were driven by shifts in the demand for equities and other assets - and these, in turn, were driven by demographics." Barclays misses the elephant trumpeting in the middle of the room. It is no wonder the People are still dazed by the world's financial meltdown.
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Pension's Retirement Income Has Collapsed By More than 70% / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Personal pension savers are facing an uphill battle in their quest to fund a comfortable retirement, according to the latest survey by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Retirement Armageddon / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
I have just posted a video of my 90-minute seminar: "Retirement Armageddon." It presents the background for a series of nasty surprises.
For those of you who don't have time to watch a 90-minute video, let me summarize its implications.
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Thoughts on Obama’s New Retirement Initiatives / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
Last week I told you about some of Washington’s latest ideas on “fixing” Social Security. And the very next night — as part of his first State of the Union address — President Obama referenced some of his own ideas on the broader topic of retirement.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Why the Government Wants to Hijack Your 401(k) / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: It's bad enough that we've been forced to bail out Wall Street. But now the Obama administration is hatching plans to raid our retirement savings, too.
To say that I'm "outraged" doesn't come close to describing the emotions I experience every time I think about the government's latest hare-brained scheme.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Economic Aspects of the Pension Problem: Part II / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Professor_Emeritus
As It Appears Sixty Years Later
In Two Parts. Part Two: Productivity Revisited - In Part One I discussed the clear and present danger to pension rights: deflation as manifested by the interest rates structure that has been falling for almost thirty years, while most observers still think that the real danger is inflation. In this concluding part I carry out a deeper analysis of the pension problem, looking at the marginal productivity of labor and capital.
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Sunday, January 03, 2010
Economic Aspects Of The Pension Problem, Deflation Threat and Ponzi Pensions / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Professor_Emeritus
As It Appears Sixty Years Later
In Two Parts. Part One: Euthanasia of the Pension Funds. On February 23, 1950, The Commercial and Financial Chronicle published an article from Ludwig von Mises with the above title. In it the author concentrated on the threat of inflation as the greatest danger to pension rights. Sixty years later another danger is looming large on the horizon: the threat of deflation, and a new examination of the pension problem is timely.
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Thursday, December 03, 2009
Pension Annuity Interest Rates at Record Lows / Interest-Rates / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
The prospects of securing a comfortable retirement have taken a further blow with news that pension annuity rates have hit an all time low. Research from Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed that, after holding firm during the summer, annuity rates have fallen steadily over the last two months.
Friday, November 06, 2009
The Central Investment Problem of Our Time / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Chris Weber writes: A question I received recently goes to the heart of what a lot of people – especially older people – are going through:
Read full article... Read full article...My wife and I are in our mid 70s. We have about 60% of our funds in gold, silver bullion, some gold and silver stocks, and the balance in cash. We need current cash income from US$ with safe dividends – am I dreaming? Can you help?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Five Major Pension Problems and One Simple Solution / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Mike_Shedlock
Even with this huge rally in stocks and corporate bonds, pension plans are in incredibly poor shape. The Washington Post lists Two Bad Choices Cut Benefits Or Take Greater Risks to Rebuild Assets.
Monday, September 28, 2009
How to Retire With No Savings / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: "Do you have any savings?" I asked my friend Tony this week.
"Not really, no," he answered.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Pension Funds Association Introduces Quality Mark, Stick With Cash ISA's / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nadeem_Walayat
In an attempt to enliven battered and bruised employee / investor interest in pension products after many have seen their pension pots dessimated by both the stocks bear market and companies going bust. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has introduced a new Quality Mark to highlight the supposedly better constructed and presumably 'safer' pension products offered by employers on behalf of its 1200 UK fund providers.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
How IRAs Can Tie Investors' Hands and What To Do About It / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: EWI
Susan C. Walker writes: Editor's Note: The following article discusses Robert Prechter's view of investment vehicles and government-regulated plans. For more analysis from Robert Prechter, download a free 10-page July issue of Prechter's Elliott Wave Theorist.
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Sunday, August 23, 2009
Who Will Inherit Your Money When You Die? / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: LewRockwell
Gary North writes: "Tell me what country I will die in. I will never go there."
Men do not like to think about their inheritance. That's because of the word "die." This is why they delay writing a will. A will is like a road map to the border of the final country. "I will never go there."
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Friday, August 21, 2009
The Best Way to Beat Higher Taxes / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: DailyWealth
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: A massive tax bomb will land on us soon...
You are foolish not to protect yourself from it. Today, I'll show you how to beat it.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Investments and Life Pension Absolute Return Funds Failing to Live up to Expectations / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Absolute return funds may have proved a popular choice for many investors during the recent stock market troubles, but the latest survey from Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has raised concerns whether they have been delivering on their promise to produce positive returns each year.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Great Baby-Boomers Economic Depression of 2007-2017 / Economics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Global_Research
Prof Rodrigue Tremblay writes: "Banking Establishments Are More Dangerous Than Standing Armies." Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3rd US President
"... a serious depression seems improbable; [we expect] recovery of business next spring, with further improvement in the fall." Harvard Economic Society (HES), November 10, 1929
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Buying Annuties for a Steady Income / InvestorEducation / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_and_Markets
Nilus Mattive writes: Last week I talked about Social Security. And given the problems with that program, along with the toll the bear market has taken on many portfolios, it’s clear why there has been a renewed interest in annuities lately.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Bankrupt Corporations Mean Your Pension is at Risk! / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_and_Markets
Nilus Mattive writes: Yesterday, General Motors said it was cutting another 21,000 jobs, getting rid of its Pontiac brand, and begging Washington to take a 50 percent equity stake.
Meanwhile, Chrysler reached an agreement with United Auto Workers negotiators on Sunday but is still struggling to work out deals with Fiat and other investor groups.
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Why Your Company Pension is in Danger! / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyWeek
Company pensions are in big trouble.
UK company pension funds are now in the red to the tune of over £240bn - the biggest shortfall ever recorded. And here's the irony. It's partly due to QE – quantitative easing, the Bank of England's cash printing press, which is supposed to be bailing Britain out.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Baby Boomers' Future Going Bust / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Mike_Shedlock
The attitudes and values of boomers heading into retirement are changing. They have to.
In the wake of a stock market and home price collapse, most boomers are not prepared for the future. Let's explore that idea with a look at Is the Future Going Down the Drain? Baby Boomers Going Bust .
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
How Stocks Bear Markets Can Boost Your Retirement Investment Planning / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes: If you save for retirement through a 401(k) plan, or have large IRA or Keogh Plan assets, you probably hurled your last statement in the bin. If you'd been making contributions consistently over the last decade, your last annual or monthly statement probably showed that the current value of your plan was well below the amount you had actually invested. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Baby Boomer Pensions The NEXT crisis! (and what to do about it) / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Brian_Bloom
Baby Boomers who will be relying on pensions as a backup support because of losses in the stock and property markets, will find that those organizations which are supposed to pay the pensions don’t have the funds. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/..Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Financial Crisis Halves Retirement Fund Values / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Crash! The 2007 thru 2008 financial crisis halved 401(k), IRA, and Mutual Fund values in a matter of months. For many, retirement dates had to be pushed back; for others, new jobs had to be found. The tragic flaw? No income allocation in the investment program. Market value builds egos; income pays the bills.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Capitalist's Social Security, 401(k) Retirement Plan Reform Program / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
What if there was an easy way to implement a whole new approach to retirement funding, pension planning, and Social Security? Would the politicians be interested? Let's find out.
What if the new plan actually reduced payroll taxes, cut prices, created jobs, increased salaries, raised shareholder dividends, partially funded decreased healthcare costs, and was available to everyone?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 14, 2008
Making 401(k)s And IRAs More Like Personal Pension Plans / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Who's confiscating your 401(k) and IRA? Dateline Raleigh, NC, November 6, 2008: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives discuss confiscating our 401(k)s and IRAs, by Carolina Journal Online reporter Karen McMahan. This shocking pronouncement is certainly an attention grabber, which if even partially true, would have an impact on nearly every employed and retired American. The basis for the report is testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor in early October.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Who's Confiscating Your 401(k) And IRA? / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Dateline Raleigh, NC, November 6, 2008: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives discuss confiscating our 401(k)s and IRAs, by Carolina Journal Online reporter Karen McMahan. This shocking pronouncement is certainly an attention grabber, which if even partially true, would have an impact on nearly every employed and retired American. The basis for the report is testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor in early October.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, October 24, 2008
How Investing in Precious Metals Will Help Baby Boomers Retire Comfortably Without Fear / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: David_Morgan
Baby boomers, with every year that you get older, do you become more and more afraid of retiring?
I don't blame you at all.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Retirement Income Investing and Your Portfolio / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
First, the good news: From June 2007 through September 2008 (i.e., during the credit crisis) Income CEF payouts per share were virtually unchanged. From June 2008 through September 2008, payouts rose slightly--- 29 funds raised their payouts and 17 lowered them. Your portfolio spending money should be higher than it was a year ago.
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Retirement Income Investment Planning - Step One / InvestorEducation / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Your retirement income investment plan starts now, right now, no matter how old or well heeled you happen to be.Step One is to understand what a retirement plan is, and to identify the three large numbers you need to keep track of while you are developing your stash. With these three totals on your spreadsheet, it's much easier to develop long-range retirement income goals that make personal sense. A retirement plan is an income production plan. Guaranteed retirement income - projected expenses = the gap. No gap, add parents and children to the expense number. There's always a gap.
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Secret to Retirement Investment Planning / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Doug_Wakefield
“When it comes to planning for the future, most people think of retirement. Retirement planning is important because it allows you to do the things that you were unable to do while working—travel, start a business, go back to school, be closer to family, or simply relax. Because retirement is such an important phase in your life, careful planning is a must.” – Planning for the Future: Making the Most of Your Retirement
Most people who've been in the financial planning industry over the last three decades have made statements like the one above to their clients. If you have worked with, or are currently working with, an individual who has prepared a financial plan for you or your family, then your expectations are likely closely aligned with such lines of thinking.
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Asset Price Deflation Heralds Big Problems for Baby Boomers / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Dudley_Baker
Most of my readers and subscribers know that I have lived in Ajijic , Mexico for nine years. This is a 'village' of which several thousand foreigners call home. We are here are many reasons, hopefully #1 is the love of Mexico and the Mexican people, the climate (almost
perfect year round) and what is, at least for now, a safe and welcome place for us foreigners. We have a great lifestyle and can live in a $100,000 home or a million dollar place, most of which is paid for with cash. Hang in there as I am getting to the point of this piece. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Americans Put Retirements on Hold as Fund Real Valuations Have Collapsed / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Andy_Sutton
Everyone knows the story of the little boy who found that he was able to get into the cookie jar while Mom and Dad were busy doing chores around the house. First he took one cookie and rearranged the remaining morsels around so nobody would notice. Soon enough, however, he had to have another and repeated the process. We all know how this story ends. Eventually, the little guy had eaten so many of the cookies that it is no longer possible to hide the fact that there were but a few left. No amount of shuffling or jumbling could hide it any longer. Sadly, this is rather analogous to the state of retirement savings for many Americans today. Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
How to Profit From the Growing US Pension Fund Crisis / Stock-Markets / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes: Welcome to the latest offshoot of the subprime-mortgage debacle: A burgeoning U.S. pension-fund crisis. Since the global financial crisis struck last fall, the largest 1,500 U.S. public companies have lost a combined $280 billion from their pension funds. Assuming the stock market doesn't move much from here, a typical U.S. company can expect its pension expense – a direct charge against profits – to increase between 20% and 30% in 2009. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Your 401(k) Retirement Investments and the IGVSI / InvestorEducation / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Smack, right up alongside the head. Your 401(k) investment program deteriorated rapidly as the stock market and the economy weakened. Who would have thought that there was so much risk of loss in those mutual funds, and ETFs? Fortunately, the pain is most often temporary, but the timing of the recovery could alter some participant retirement schedules and benefits--- not to mention the hefty confiscation level retirees can count on from Uncle Sam.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A Successful Pension Investment Strategy / InvestorEducation / Pensions & Retirement
By: Christopher_Quigley
PropositionsGiven that hyper inflation is here to stay any long term investment strategy must achieve good growth in order to protect future buying power.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Real Scoop on Annuities - Part One / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Steve_Selengut
Insurance companies have always been big time financial institutions, and they could probably have claimed possession of the largest and safest investment portfolios on the planet. At one time, their role vis-à-vis Wall Street was clearly that of a giant customer for the securities the investment banks brought to market and which the securities firms distributed. Their real estate holdings were religious in size and quality. They were direct lenders to corporations, their owner-policyholders, and to other institutions. They were the Trustees who managed the private employee pension plans of the world. Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Should You Own Precious Metals in a Retirement / Pensions Account? / Commodities / Pensions & Retirement
By: Mike_Clark
In recent years, a growing number of countries have permitted their citizens to establish personal retirement accounts and allow them to choose the investments they may hold, including precious metals. But should an investor include a precious metals component in his or her long-term investment plan? And if so, how does one decide which precious metal investment product to own for retirement purposes?Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Three Million Brits Are Slaving Today For a Better Tomorrow, says Fool.co.uk / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Fool.co.uk
We expect to retire at 59 with a pension pot of £650,000 3 million Brits are slaving today for a better tomorrowAround 3 million gritty Brits are living reduced lifestyles today so they can enjoy a better retirement tomorrow. One in two people in Britain expect to maintain their current lifestyle when they retire, but one in six people are living for today rather than tomorrow.
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Pensions - Retirement Planning Made Easy - Fixed Income Investing / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Roger_Conrad
Fixed-income investing is absolutely essential to protecting and growing your nest-egg - if you know what you are doing.As retirement approaches, your investment horizon shrinks. In other words, the closer you are to retirement, the less chance you want to take that you could lose a sizable portion of your investments. You want to more aggressively protect your assets from the stock market's volatility. Many advisors suggest that people at this point begin increasing the bond portion of their portfolio to 50% or more to lower their overall investment risk.
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Friday, February 18, 2005
£700 billion Pensions hole ! / Politics / Pensions & Retirement
By: John_York
Talk about a pensions black hole !The Public sector pensions bill is estimated at £700 billion pounds which is £300 billion more than the previous published estimate of £380 billion.
To make matters worse, the TUC are organising a series of events across the UK over plans to raise the retirement age of nurses, teachers and other public workers. Read full article... Read full article...