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Retirement Income
A majority of households age 55 and older do not have retirement savings. That sobering news comes from a recently released study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “Retirement Security: Most Households Approaching Retirement Have Low Savings” says that 52% of such households are in...
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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on May 21 released an update on the committee’s bipartisan tax working groups.The senators said they would allow the working groups more time to analyze current tax law and examine policy trade-offs and...
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On May 20, President Obama announced his intent to nominate a number of individuals to key Administration posts, including the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).Assuming the Senate concurs, W. Thomas Reeder, Jr. is the President’s choice to head the nation’s private pension insurer. The...
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The DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council at its May 27-29 meeting will include examination of lifetime plan participation. The council will focus on preparing proposed notices and disclosures related to the recommendations the council made in its 2014 report, “Issues and Considerations Surrounding...
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Legislation introduced recently in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate would require retirement plans to include an “annuity equivalent” on participant statements.In the House, Reps. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) introduced the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act (H.R. 2317...
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Echoing a recent study from Transamerica in which the vast majority of Boomers and Gen Xers expect to retire long after they turn 65, an Allianz survey reports that more than five in six Americans over 35 say traditional retirement is now “a romantic fantasy.”Allianz’ “Generations Apart” study...
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“The current retirement system in the private sector works well for those to have access to it. The challenge is to expand the availability of retirement savings in the private workforce.” That was the core message of American Retirement Association Congressional Affairs Manager Andrew Remo in his...
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The DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council is set to seek solutions to difficulties plan participants experience in understanding their choices in pension risk transfer transactions. The goal of the DOL’s 2015 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans is to create model notices and...
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ASPPA took the IRS up on its invitation to comment on the 2015-2016 Priority Guidance Plan and in a comment letter filed on April 30 has made suggestions to the IRS regarding projects and guidance it should pursue during the period covered by the plan.ASPPA said that it believes that every item on...
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A new legislative proposal wouldn’t just require employers to offer a retirement plan — it would mandate employer contributions too.The proposal, unveiled by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, would direct employers with 10 or more employees to open individualized...
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For an increasing number of Americans, work is not just the place where they go to earn money to support themselves, it’s where they also expect to learn how much of that income should be saved for retirement. And according to a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, a growing number of...
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Industry pundits (and many advisors) continue to tout the prudence — if not necessity — of retirement plan lifetime income options but current trends don’t appear favorable, according to John Haley, Chief Executive Officer at Towers Watson.Speaking at a Bipartisan Policy Center event in Washington...
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The “right” answer is, of course, it depends.But the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has published an analysis that, with the benefit of a full stochastic decumulation model focusing simultaneously on post-retirement investment risk, longevity risk and long-term care costs,...
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Time draws short for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs and employer-provided retirement plans to taxpayers who reached age 70½ in 2014. The IRS on March 19 in IR-2015-55 issued a reminder that the deadline is April 1.The April 1 deadline applies to owners of traditional...
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Baby Boomers who have yet to cut the financial cord with their adult children are increasingly finding that tether to be more like an anchor keeping them from reaching retirement.According to a new study of Baby Boomers by Hearts & Wallets, only 21% of Baby Boomers who still support adult...
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In coming years, more than half of workers and retirees in terminated multiemployer plans will face a reduction in benefits under current Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guarantees if their plans run out of money, according to a new study.In the past, only about 20% of workers and...
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Retirees will need an average of $2.5 million to maintain the same quality of life in retirement, according to a recent Legg Mason survey.The majority (72%) of the 458 U.S. respondents to the firm’s Legg Mason Global Investment Survey — all affluent investors (defined as having at least $200,000 in...
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Identical bills before both chambers of the Iowa legislature would end state taxation of pensions and other forms of retirement income — but only through 2020.HF 280 and SF 277 would remove from the Iowa income tax law two provisions that define income as including all forms of retirement income,...
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The New Jersey Pension and Health Benefits Study Commission has issued its findings and proposals for how the Garden State can address its seemingly intractable state pension funding problems.In a manner similar to the brash style of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who created it, the...
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Legislation that would require Maryland employers to adopt payroll deduction savings plans for their employees got a full bicameral at a Feb. 25 hearing in the Maryland General Assembly.Both the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee and the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee...
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