October 2017

08Oct

Is There a Retirement Crisis? Examining Retirement Planning in the Household and Government Sectors

By Andrew G. Biggs (American Enterprise Institute) In response to a widespread perception that households are undersaving for retirement, policymakers have proposed expanding Social Security and establishing supplementary retirement saving plans run by state governments. But these proposals take place against a background of record-high unfunded liabilities for government-run retirement programs. If government entities have either financial or political difficulty funding their existing obligations to retirees, shifting greater retirement provision from households to government could potentially worsen existing shortfalls in...

October 8, 2017
Articles, Funding, Savings, System Sustainability, ,
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04Oct

US. Here’s how many millennials are actually saving for retirement

When you're young, retirement can seem too far off to think about. And if you're putting off saving for it, you're not alone: Just 31 percent of millennials are contributing to a retirement account, a new survey from Earnest, Amino and Ipsos finds. Some experts say that if millennials don't change their habits they'll miss the boat completely. The longer you wait to start saving, the farther behind you'll fall and the more you'll miss out on compound interest, which...

October 4, 2017
News, Slider
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September 2017

27Sep

US. 6 ways retirement benefits will change in the next decade

In the coming decade, retirement benefits for the average American will change. Simple math dictates it: More than 9,000 Americans reach the retirement age of 65 every day, and they will need more money in retirement because people are living longer, healthier lives. One number sums up the nature of the challenge facing the aging Americans and our government in Washington. According to the Urban Institute, in 2010, there were 0.25 adults age 65 and older for every adult aged...

September 27, 2017
News, Slider
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14Sep

US. Wiles: Why you shouldn’t tap into your retirement plan after disasters

In the wake of a disaster like Hurricanes Harvey or Irma, a job loss or other financial trauma, it's natural to look to 401(k)-style retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts for help. Retirement plans are among the largest sources of fairly liquid, non-housing money available to millions of Americans. They are tempting sources of ready cash. The Internal Revenue Service recently acknowledged as much, reminding Harvey victims with 401(k) accounts that they could tap these plans in a pinch. In fact, the IRS is relaxing certain retirement rules, making it easier...

September 14, 2017
News, Slider
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13Sep

US. IRS Allows Easier Access to Retirement Plan Funds for Hurricane Irma Victims

We previously posted regarding the retirement plan relief provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for victims of Hurricane Harvey pursuant to Announcement 2017-11. The IRS extended the same relief to victims of Hurricane Irma in Announcement 2017-13. The relief relaxes the rules that normally apply to restrict a plan participant’s access to qualified retirement plan funds. The relief is available to a plan participant who, on Sept. 4, 2017, had a principal residence or work location (or whose...

September 13, 2017
News, Slider
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11Sep

US. Workers Wanted: Aging population presents double challenge in health care

Wisconsin’s growing worker shortage presents a particularly difficult challenge for the health care industry, especially in rural areas and at facilities that care for the elderly and disabled. As Wisconsin’s baby boomers retire in greater numbers over the coming decades and live longer than previous generations, there will be more consumers of health care while the working-age population that provides those services is projected to stay about the same. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those age 65 and...

September 11, 2017
News, Slider
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08Sep

Annuity Options in Public Pension Plans: The Curious Case of Social Security Leveling

By Robert L. Clark, Robert G. Hammond, Melinda S. Morrill, David Vanderweide Social Security Leveling is an annuity option that allows participants to receive a level income before and after age 62. The retiree receives a larger pension benefit prior to age 62, but then the pension benefit is lowered at age 62 when the individual is expected to claim Social Security benefits. This option is not uncommon in public pension plans, yet little is known about how this option...

September 8, 2017
Aging, Articles, Pension design, Regulation, ,
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01Sep

Debt and Financial Vulnerability on the Verge of Retirement

By Annamaria Lusardi, Olivia S. Mitchell & Noemi Oggero We analyze older individuals’ debt and financial vulnerability using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). Specifically, in the HRS we examine three different cohorts (individuals age 56–61) in 1992, 2004, and 2010 to evaluate cross-cohort changes in debt over time. We also use two waves of the NFCS (2012 and 2015) to gain additional insights into debt management and older individuals’ capacity...

September 1, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Savings, Slider-Left, , ,
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August 2017

31Aug

US. IRS loosens rules for retirement plans to lend money to Hurricane Harvey victims

The Internal Revenue Service granted additional relief to victims of Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday by allowing 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans to give loans and hardship distributions to aid them without incurring penalties. The IRS pointed out the relief is similar to what was provided to victims of previous disasters, including Louisiana floods and Hurricane Matthew. The IRS said 401(k) plan participants, along with employees of public schools and tax-exempt organizations with 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, as well as state and...

August 31, 2017
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30Aug

US. The top 1 percent have more than 200 times the retirement savings of the typical American

When it comes to retirement savings, Americans are falling short: Most families have little or nothing stashed away. That being said, some are more prepared than others, and the wealthiest Americans have significantly more in savings. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which looked at the state of American retirement in a 2016 report, the top one percent of families had $1.08 million or more stashed away in 2013. That's 216 times the median working-age family (50th percentile), which had...

August 30, 2017
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