NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Beware, your employer could be stealing your retirement savings. Remember back in the 1990s when pension plans touted surpluses? Those days are long gone, as many corporations froze the plans or eliminated them altogether. Underfunded pensions became the norm. Employees investors and the public were led to believe that the tough decision to take those actions was a result of the declining stock market and cheaper foreign labor, which prompted companies to reduce expenses. Ellen Schultz, author of Retirement Heist, reveals that the funds were diminished on corporate expenses like restructuring costs, executive pay and health benefits. In some cases, the assets were even sold in merger and acquisition transactions. As unfortunate as it is, those practices are legal. But most workers don't know about them. Companies say there are disclosures in filings provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are publicly available. Those disclosures are found only in footnotes in small print, according to Schultz. Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Wall Street Journal, says most of the money went toward executive pensions and deferred-compensation packages. Those have become huge obligations as the costs associated with executive benefits have spiraled out of control. Of course, the average worker is left without anything. A rather outlandish example she provides is a practice by which CEOs use life insurance to finance their own pension plans. Here's how it works: A company takes out life insurance on its workers and, as they pass away over time, the proceeds fund executives' fat pensions.

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Retirement Funds Used to Boost Company Profits

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Americans are more conscious today of where every dollar is spent. And they are responding by cutting simple costs to save for retirement. A new survey from investing company Scottrade, Inc. found that Americans are taking action by comparison shopping, using coupons and generally cutting back on unessential expenses like clothing and entertainment.

“Americans are simply looking for ways to save more and spend less,” said Kim Wells, Scottrade’s executive director of product development and chief marketing officer. “They are feeling a financial pinch in more areas of their daily routine – from filling their gas tanks to heating their homes. These behaviors demonstrate that people are more mindful of their financial situations.”

Uncertainty about future circumstances is compelling nearly all Americans to take action, according to the sixth annual survey of consumer attitudes and behaviors regarding retirement and retirement planning.

In order to reduce their financial concerns this year:

69 percent are spending less, compared to 63 percent in 2011; 67 percent are using coupons, compared to 59 percent in 2011; and 65 percent compare prices to find the best deal, compared to 58 percent in 2011.

“By understanding that they shouldn’t overpay, more Americans are comparing prices to find better deals for themselves,” Wells said. “Our company was founded on the notion that everyone deserves a good value. Scottrade’s award-winning philosophy on fair pricing, and our 32-year history of low commissions and never charging account nuisance fees, gives our clients confidence that they won’t be nickel-and-dimed.”

The survey data indicates Americans’ uncertainty stems from debt. Weighed down by non-mortgage debt, this year more Americans – 40 percent compared to 33 percent in 2011 – reported it caused them to save less for retirement. And the trend is expected to continue with 34 percent stating that non-mortgage debt will cause them to save less for retirement in 2012.

This explains the ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ theme Scottrade’s research uncovered. Only 5 percent of Americans recommend saving 2 percent or less annually for retirement, yet 55 percent of Americans reported saving 2 percent or less in 2011. And the trend of under-saving should continue as 33 percent plan to save 2 percent or less in 2012.

Despite these concerns, the majority of Americans, 72 percent, said they are confident in their own abilities to plan for retirement. Overall 61 percent of respondents expect to be able to completely retire – and not work again – between the ages of 45 and 74. Fifteen percent of the survey’s respondents have already retired, with the majority doing so between the ages of 45 and 74.

About the 2012 Scottrade American Retirement Survey

The survey was commissioned by Scottrade and conducted online by Synovate. Fielded with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents between January 5-9, 2012, the survey examined attitudes, behaviors and trends related to retirement. All participants were at least 18 years of age and were involved in making investment decisions in their households. Margin of error for the overall poll is +/- 3.1 percent at 95 percent confidence. This is the sixth year in a row Scottrade commissioned a survey of Americans’ current viewpoints about retirement and retirement investing.

About Scottrade, Inc.

Investors who enjoy online stock trading will find value and personalized customer service at online investing firm Scottrade, Inc. Founded in 1980, Scottrade enables customers to learn about online trading tools, stock market research and how to buy stocks online, many at just $7 per trade. With more than 500 nationwide branch offices, Scottrade has the largest branch network among online brokerage firms. To learn more about one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” visit about.scottrade.com or http://www.scottrade.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Scottrade® and the Scottrade® logo are the registered trademarks of Scottrade, Inc.

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New Research on Retirement Saving: Financial Frugality is Back in Style

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03-03-2011 11:53 Reese Witherspoon presenting Christian Bale with the Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "The Fighter" at the 83rd Academy Awards® in 2011.

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23-06-2011 15:04 http://www.nextcomputing.com - The Radius EX high-performance portable workstation now offers battery options for quick relocation, or having to work in an area with unreliable power. This high-end system is ideal for engineers, video broadcasters, and military personnel.

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Can your extreme performance computer run for 2 to 4 hours while you walk - Video

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05-07-2011 15:33 http://www.eaglestalent.com -Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau presents Brian Tracy. To book speaker Brian Tracy, visit his speaker profile page. Brian Tracy is one of America's leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. He's a dynamic and entertaining speaker with a wonderful ability to inform and inspire audiences toward peak performance and high levels of achievement. He addresses more than 400000 men and women each year on the subjects of personal and professional development, including the executives and staff of IBM, Arthur Andersen, McDonnell Douglas and The Million Dollar Round Table. His exciting talks and seminars on leadership, sales management and personal effectiveness bring about immediate changes and long-term results. Brian has a B.Comm., an MA and is the Chairman of Brian Tracy International, a human resource company based in San Diego, California, with affiliates throughout America and in thirty-one countries worldwide.

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MedTrakker health and wellness personal medical organizers empower patients to become partners with their physicians to receive the best quality healthcare by providing an easy to use paper system to document, manage and share their up-to-date medical history with their entire healthcare team.

Winchester, VA (PRWEB) February 28, 2012

Author Amber Bowden created the concept of MedTrakker as a result of her mother being diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. When faced with a chronic health condition, personal medical records need to be as accurate as possible.

One of the most interesting improvements in major medical care today is the development of personal medical record management that puts patients back in control over their medical history data, resulting in better quality healthcare.

“While trying to help with the care and treatment of my mother, there were numerous health care providers involved. I ended up having to compile records from each and every one, it was overwhelming,” said Author Amber Bowden. What one doctor’s office has in their chart doesn’t always match the information in another doctor’s office. Life saving information can be lost in the process of trying to make sure all doctors have the same records. Amber Bowden consulted with physicians, nurse practitioners, patients and care-givers to create a simple system that maps out a patients complete medical history information.

The benefits of using a MedTrakker to organize personal medical records, provides health professionals a complete understanding of a patients health condition, reduce the stress of filling out hospital and medical forms, avoiding unnecessary treatments, duplicate tests and lab work and prescription drug interactions, saving time, etc… the list goes on and on.

With this personal medical record system, patients are able to track and record family histories, previous surgeries, medications, appointments, personal information, emergency contacts and insurance information. The MedTrakker family offers a variety of personal medical record organizers such as; Diabetes Trakker, Cardio Trakker and Cancer Trakker. The medical organizers not only offer an extensive record-keeping system, but also provides information about diseases, risk factors, and ways to manage the patients’ health condition. Complete personal medical records can only result in more effective and better medical care.

“I wanted to create a way for patients to take charge of their personal health care records,” said Amber Bowden. Face it, until all electronic records are made available for access between all healthcare providers, some doctors may only get half the information they need to provide the patient with the best possible care. With these organizers by MedTrakker a patient can have all their information at their fingertips. They can put an end to the guesswork, uncertainty, worry and anguish.

The medical organizers are available exclusively online at: http://www.medtrakker.com/

For Media: Author Amber Bowden is available for speaking events, book signings and expert quotes.

Author Amber Bowden can be reached on Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/in/medtrakker) to answer further questions regarding the whole family of MedTrakkers Personal Medical Organizers.

Follow MedTrakker here on http://www.facebook.com/MedTrakker

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Amber, Bowden
MedTrakker
540-532-6184
Email Information

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MedTrakker Introduces A Paper Based Personal Medical Record Keeping System That Puts The Patient In Control Of Their ...

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10-02-2012 13:21 A short jam packed video illustrating the uses of multimedia and screencasting for Building Community, Enhancing Instruction, & Engaging Students. Feel free to pause it, and use the slider bar to go through at your own pace. Check out the Screencasting Reference Guide for Educators at tinyurl.com/ScreenCastingGuide

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Online Teaching - Building Community, Instruction,

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27-02-2012 16:27 Hi -- I'm Don Cameron, founder of ConferTel and in this Webinar Skill Builder Minute I'm going to talk briefly about why you should use video when marketing your webinar. Email is still the biggest driver of audience registra¬tion, although social media is being used increas¬ingly to raise event awareness, as are free webinar listing sites. Meanwhile, video content boosts the effectiveness of email and social media marketing. So it's a good practice to use video presentations to drive webinar registrations. A lot of money gets spent on TV advertising -- and there is a reason for it. A video introduction, or "trailer" (if you will), for your webinar content can be used in your event promotions to generate interest. For example, you can have your subject matter expert record a brief introductory video clip, and then embed the link to the clip in all of your promotional communications. Audiences will appreciate the advance exposure to the event content, and can easily share it with others via email or social media. Recorded video presentations also have features that can increase your audience engagement prior to an event. Inserting polls and questions into your pre-event communications can give your audience the chance to engage early with you, and enables you to identify topics that pique their interest. One of my favourite techniques is to solicit questions that I answer during the live event. It is important take the time and effort to make the video clip compelling ...

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28-02-2012 07:14 TURN YOUR VOLUME WAY UP! Georgia law provides specific guidelines for what governments can charge for occupation taxes (often referred to as business licenses). This online training module discusses the state law in Georgia as of the date it was published online. As with any governmental regulation, your attorney should be consulted. You should never implement a law or regulation based solely on a third party's online material.

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28-02-2012 11:03 Visit http://www.schoolimprovement.com to find out how you can view the entire program. Segment 1 of 5 of this program. This segment introduces Kihei Charter School, a learning environment where the world becomes the classroom. -The students at Kihei Charter School apply and integrate 21st Century Skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, analysis, and adaptability. -Over the course of their project-based experience, students become researchers, scientists, project managers, and collaborators. -Project-based lessons provide an opportunity for students to work in their communities where they learn that they individually and collectively can make a difference. Sign up for a free trial of PD 360 at http://www.schoolimprovement.com

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Kihei Charter - Productivity in the 21st Century (a PD 360 Program Segment) - Video