Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans has been such a success that a lot of people want to duplicate it with IRAs. Proposals that would require employers to establish automatic payroll deductions for IRAs have been kicking around …
Financial Planning
Door Opens to Tax on IRA and 401(k) Gains
From the beginning, questions have swirled around the future tax standing of retirement savings. In an age of soaring deficits, would Congress really be able to keep its hands off hundreds of billions of dollars of tax-advantaged …
Why Giving Your Kids an Allowance May Not Teach Them Anything
Parents have been paying their kids an allowance since the Industrial Revolution on the theory that it will help kids better understand budgets and spending choices as adults. Now a prominent academic says it’s all been a waste of time
Buffett Rule Shares Flaw with Tax it Would Replace
Say goodbye to the much-loathed Alternative Minimum Tax and hello to the Buffett Rule. Sweet relief. The AMT has perplexed taxpayers and agonized accountants for decades. But wait: Are the AMT and the Buffett Rule really so different?
3 Ways to Know If You Can Retire
The concept of a practice retirement has been around for many years, and it has been especially topical since the Great Recession took a toll on so many nest eggs. But practicing retirement before you take the plunge isn’t just …
Dividend Stocks Are Hot, But They Aren’t Bonds
The search for retirement income in today’s low-yield environment inevitably comes back to dividend paying stocks. How could it not? Money market funds and short-term bank CDs pay about .5%; the 10-year Treasury bond pays only about 2%.
Going to the 2012 London Olympics? Better Be Preparing
Britain may end up being the most popular vacation destination this summer, and there’s no bigger event happening in the U.K. this year than the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. While it’s still months away, if you’re not actively …
Finally, A Convenient Way to Get Income for Life: Feds Push A New 401(k) Option
With traditional pensions disappearing, securing reliable low-cost lifetime income for retirees has emerged as a top issue among financial planners and policymakers. Finally, a solution is in sight. The federal government has issued new regulations designed to encourage two important changes:
- Allow 401(k) plan participants to easily
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Pension Income Is Guaranteed, Right? Yes, But …
As if we needed another reminder that our safety net is threadbare, AMR Corp., the American Airlines parent company, says it will shut down pensions covering 130,000 employees and retirees as part of a reorganization in …
Personnel Finance: Productivity Down, Employers Target Debt Stress
Financial education advocates point to three primary places to reach those who need help with their money: in schools, the point of sale, and at work. A debate rages over the first two. But efforts to educate employees at the …
Are Young People Too Afraid of Debt?
Following the Great Recession many young people have become not merely respectful of debt, as we would wish; but fearful of it, which could set them back.
Bernanke to Income-Starved Retirees: Tough Luck
If it wasn’t clear already, it is now: securing decent retirement income in a low-yield environment is going to be a problem for a long time. Seniors who have been eking by through temporary measures like drawing down an …