With the election upon us and the fiscal cliff looming, tax rates are on a lot of minds–especially retirees and those saving for retirement. A new survey shows how higher rates would curb retirement saving.
Financial Planning
Retirees Embrace Junk Bonds at Just the Wrong Moment
Yield-starved retirees are taking a flyer on junk bonds, just as credit quality in that market takes a turn for the worse. Look out below.
By One Measure, At Least, We’re All Better Off Than We Were 4 Years Ago
Retirement account balances are up in every state since the last presidential election, a new study shows. If only those balances were up as much as the market.
How Saving for Retirement Might Backfire
Saving for retirement is now the top financial goal of the vast majority of people who hold a job, according to a recent T. Rowe Price survey. That’s great news. We have a savings crisis in America and we’re finally taking it …
4 Ways You Pay Too Much–and What to Do About It
By seizing on promotions and not paying attention to new products and changing markets, consumers end up in the wrong loans all the time. They spend an estimated $541 a month more than necessary on their debt repayment. Here’s …
Is the U.S. Waging a War on Savers?
Government policies that discourage saving are one of the chief reasons that so many Americans fail to put money away regularly.
Can We Handle the Truth? Public Pensions Are Short on Cash
We are in trying times for sure when the good news about public pensions is that an independent study confirms a huge funding shortfall–and it’s greeted with applause because at least pension managers haven’t been hiding it.
Nantucket Project: Small Island, Big Ideas for Fixing Our Economic Future
Prominent thinkers at this year’s Nantucket Project worried about flagging innovation and corruption in government. But they’re also developing technology that lets kids teach themselves to read and entrepreneurs to move …
Why College May Be Totally Free Within 10 Years
Higher education is in transition and with a coming proliferation in online courses could be totally free for many within a decade. The status quo won’t yield easily. But this is looking like a real answer to runaway student debt.
Financial Education: A Job for Teachers or Parents?
The idea that teaching kids about money should be left to parents is strictly old school, a panel of experts agreed. Personal finance is “Reality” in the post financial crisis world and should be regarded as the Fourth R. This is …
Why Reform Will Push Money Market Fund Yields Even Lower
Left for dead in August, the effort to reform money market mutual funds is getting a renewed boost. The stable $1 share price may be a casualty. Here’s why reform would push the low yields on these funds even lower.
Why Risk is Back in Fashion
Fed Chief Ben Bernanke’s strategy for making risk fashionable is gaining traction. Affluent investors are jumping off the sidelines and home prices are getting a lift. We’re not out of the woods by a long shot. But do you really …