Everyone seems to want lifetime-income products as a 401(k) option. But our retirement system is so skewed toward accumulating, not drawing down, assets that the income problem managed to catch us by surprise. Change is coming–but not nearly fast enough.
IRA
401(k) Loan Defaults Soar, Stirring Call for Insurance
Billions of dollars are leaking out of 401(k) plans as workers lose their jobs and cannot repay loans from their plans. This has stirred some to call for insurance policies that would restore 401(k) money lost through loans that …
Selling Your Dream for Cash: The Unfortunate Mainstreaming of the Reverse Mortgage
A new report shows that the reverse mortgage remains a confusing product, but that it has gone mainstream nonetheless and represents an unnerving erosion of homeowners’ financial safety net.
5 Ways to Avoid Hidden 401(k) Fees
A new report says that investors lose up to 30% of their savings to hidden 401(k) fees. That’s probably a stretch. But outlandish fees are a definite problem. Here’s how you can avoid them.
Don’t Look Now — But You’ve Already Been Enrolled in an IRA Savings Plan
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 …
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 …
The Lessons of Mitt Romney’s IRA
Mitt Romney may have made the classic IRA mistake: holding low-tax investments inside a tax-favored account. His IRA strategy isn’t clear, of course. Romney continues to guard his personal finances. But details are trickling …
Cash Back: Banks Battle for Your Rollover IRA
Your 2011 tax documents are beginning to arrive in the mail, signaling the start of another tax filing season. Right on cue, financial firms are in a spending battle to win the business of anyone considering an IRA rollover as …
Lead by Example? Hardly — Boomer Kids Out-Saving Their Parents
Boomers have never been great at putting money in the bank. Maybe they should listen to their kids.
8 Money Habits That Separate Doers From Dreamers
When it comes to securing financial security, are you a doer or a dreamer? By definition, financial doers have a better shot at reaching their retirement goals. No real surprise, they also have a much better shot at raising …