July 2017

27Jul

US. Retirement plan participation higher than previously thought: ICI

More workers than commonly thought participate in retirement plans, according to a study by the Investment Company Institute. But even with the new numbers, there's plenty of room for improvement. The study by the mutual fund industry's trade group found that 63% of all workers aged 26 to 64 participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan either directly or through a spouse. ICI's study looked at data from the IRS Statistics of Income Division Form W-2 study. The data provide an alternative...

July 27, 2017
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25Jul

Medicaid, pension costs create budget complications for U.S. states: report

A sluggish forecast for U.S. economic growth as well as an increase in U.S. states' Medicaid and pension contribution costs is creating a budgetary squeeze in many state capitols, according to a research report issued by S&P Global Ratings on Monday. While the risk of a recession within the next 12 months has fallen into a 15-20 percent range from 20-25 percent, the rate of economic expansion "is expected to remain fairly anemic at 1.8 percent over the longer term...

July 25, 2017
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25Jul

US. Women’s Retirement Income Literacy Is Lower Than Men’s

Women at retirement age, those between the ages of 60 and 75, understand the components of retirement income far less well than men of the same age, although even men don’t grasp the topic very well, the RICP Retirement Income Literacy Survey from The American College of Financial Services found. Only 18% of women passed the quiz, compared to 35% of men. A mere 16% of women answered questions about annuity products in retirement correctly, compared to 24% of men....

July 25, 2017
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20Jul

The US is losing ground when it comes to retirement security

All your retirement dreams can come true, just maybe not in the U.S. Among the leading nations for retirement security, the United States didn't even crack the top 15, according to the 2017 Global Retirement Index by Natixis Global Asset Management. Europe, however, continued to dominate the top spots, with Norway at No. 1 for the second year in a row, followed by Switzerland and Iceland. Sweden ranked No. 4 and New Zealand rounded out the top 5, Natixis reported. With more...

July 20, 2017
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20Jul

Have Americans’ Retirement Benefits Been Slashed?

Ben Steverman of Bloomberg reports that “Employers cut their contributions to workers' retirements by a quarter from 2001 to 2015…The biggest driver: the decline of traditional defined-benefit pensions, replaced by stingier, 401(k)-style, defined-contribution plans.” According to a survey by the firm Willis Towers Watson, employer contributions to retirement plans fell from 9.1 percent of worker pay in 2001 to just 6.8 percent in 2015. Just another day in the ongoing retirement crisis, right? In fact, federal government data show...

July 20, 2017
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19Jul

US. GOP again hits federal retirement in latest budget plan

The House budget proposal released Tuesday continues Republican efforts to cut federal employees’ compensation by making them pay more for retirement benefits. Saying they seek “reforms to civil service pensions to put them on a better fiscal path,” the spending plan released by the House Budget Committee calls on staffers “to make greater contributions to their own defined benefit retirement plans.” While the Republican’s “Plan for Fiscal Responsibility” did not provide details, it echoes previous proposals, including one offered by President...

July 19, 2017
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18Jul

US. Kroger to contribute $1 billion to bolster underfunded pension plan

Kroger Co. KR, -0.59% disclosed in a filing Monday that it will contribute up to $1 billion to pension plan, which it believes the "significantly" address the underfunded position of the plan. The supermarket chain said it plans to fund the contribution by issuing debt. The said certain participants' benefit balances will be distributed out of the plan, by way of a transfer to other qualified retirement plan options or a lump-sum payout. The company expects a one-time expense...

July 18, 2017
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18Jul

US. Microsoft raises 401k contribution matching to help retain employees

Advisors say that to retire, employees should save up to 15% of their salaries each year. With a program like the 401k setup, workers are encouraged to put pre-tax money into the savings with an optional contribution from their employers for a long term solution. However, some have been unhappy with the results. The 401k plan that many employers offer to its workers has been undergoing a shift in the last year. During 2016, many companies have been adjusting how...

July 18, 2017
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17Jul

US. Millennials don’t save for enough retirement — but Congress can help

“Young people are not saving enough.” “They will have to double their savings to retire at a reasonable age.” These quotes represent the conventional wisdom about our nation’s millennials, the more than 80 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 36. However, the savings picture for millennials has become more complex, according to recent data. This cohort of young people is saving more, though for short-term goals instead of retirement. To promote retirement savings, Congress should pass the Automatic Individual Retirement...

July 17, 2017
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12Jul

US. Pensions prove popular: Auto-enrolment take-up has smashed government expectations

The workplace pension has proved more popular than the government imagined, according to statistics revealed today by the Pensions Regulator (TPR). More than 8m people have signed up for a workplace pension since auto-enrolment was launched in 2012. With hundreds of thousands more employees set to enrol in the coming months, the total number will ultimately beat the expectation of 8m people in total set out five years ago. This ambitious agenda of helping workers save for retirement would not have...

July 12, 2017
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