Retirement

There is a great piece in the Wall Street Journal--in the form of a quiz--that reveals survey results on a range of questions related to retirement planning . Many of the questions and answers are eye opening. All questions are framed in the general context of the financial crisis and are intended to shed light on how pre-retirees' knowledge, views and plans have changed over the past couple of years. Well worth the read. Source: Wall Street Journal Full Story

Industry analysts view retirement income security as the hot-button issue that will be on the table once the healthcare reform issue has been resolved. Several recent surveys indicate how unprepared most Americans are when it comes to retirement income: A recent BofA Merrill Lynch survey revealed that 45% of those between the ages of 55 and 75 had not calculated how long their assets would last. Another survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute indicates that 70% of people entering...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a guide titled " Women and Retirement Savings ." The guide discussed retirement planning from the perspective of women and highlights eight fundamental questions that women should ask themselves when preparing for the financial aspects of retirement. Sources: DOL and Wall Street Journal

Two leading companies are partnering to provide a new annuity offering. MetLife has developed the "MetLife Growth and Guaranteed Income (MGGI)" product that will be distributed exclusively through Fidelity . The MGGI is a deferred variable annuity that contains a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit ( GLWB ) that, depending on the age of the client, ranges between 4 and 6 percent of the initial single premium. Fidelity will manage a relatively simply fund offering and the M&E fees on the...

There is a great op-ed piece in the Washington Post that discusses what the authors refer to as the "retirement problem." In a detailed article, the authors lay-out a case for why it may not be so wise--from a public policy perspective--to leave all retirement planning decisions in the hands of individuals and the free market. In a nutshell, the authors point out that: On the whole, we save too little. On the whole, retail investment returns lag average returns by significant margins due to...