Archive for the ‘Retirement’ Category
Prudential Retirement starts year strong with three new plan sponsor clients
Posted: February 1, 2012 at 11:44 am
NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prudential Retirement, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU - News), today announced three new plan sponsor clients.
“Securing these new clients demonstrates Prudential Retirement is offering solutions that deliver results and optimal outcomes for participants,” said George Castineiras, senior vice president, Total Retirement Solutions, Prudential Retirement. “We are pleased to announce these three clients as the newest members of the Prudential family and we look forward to delivering a personalized approach to each of these plans sponsors.”
U.S. Epperson Underwriting Company, a commercial property and casualty insurance management company, has signed on for a full service retirement solution. Prudential Retirement will record keep the Boca Raton, Fla. headquartered company’s defined contribution (DC), defined benefit (DB) and deferred compensation plans. Prudential will service $67 million in total combined plan assets and will deliver retirement planning services to more than 329 DC participants and 787 DB participants.
The deal became official on Dec. 1, 2011. “We are excited to form a partnership with Prudential as our new full service retirement plan provider,” said Mary Moore, associate vice president, Human Resources, U.S. Epperson. “We selected Prudential based on the firm’s passion, expertise, and commitment to helping our employees not only get to retirement – but through retirement.”
“While Prudential’s brand got them in the door, it was the service team’s ability to translate U.S. Epperson’s unique needs into a solution exceeding the client’s expectations that, ultimately, won them a new relationship,” said Jeffrey Medici, vice president and financial advisor at Dallas, Texas-based CAPTRUST Financial Advisors and advisor to the U.S. Epperson deal. “That, combined with a world-class service team with the expertise necessary to manage a complex TRO solution, allowed them to rise to the top of the class.”
Prudential has also assumed recordkeeping responsibility for Garden City, New York-based The Auto Club of New York. "We selected Prudential Retirement as our 401(k) provider based on their expertise with employee plans, their commitment to quality client service and their reputation as an industry leader," said Robert Walters, Chief Financial Officer, AAA New York. "We were very pleased with Prudential’s guidance throughout the transition from our former provider and together, we are improving the assistance our employees receive for their retirement planning." William Peragine, advisor in the Retirement Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was the advisor with the deal. The defined contribution plan has more than 580 participants and $18 million in plan assets.
New Orleans, Louisiana-based Energy Partners has also signed on. The 401(k) plan has more than 250 plan participants and roughly $10.4 million in plan assets.
Prudential Retirement delivers retirement plan solutions for public, private, and non-profit organizations. Services include state-of-the-art record keeping, administrative services, investment management, comprehensive employee investment education and communications, and trustee services. With over 85 years of retirement experience, Prudential Retirement helps meet the needs of over 3.6 million participants and annuitants. Prudential Retirement has $214.7 billion in retirement account values as of September 30, 2011.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU - News), a financial services leader with approximately $871 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2011, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.
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Prudential Retirement starts year strong with three new plan sponsor clients
After 17 Seasons, Posada Announces Retirement – Video
Posted: January 31, 2012 at 1:25 am
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After 17 Seasons, Posada Announces Retirement - Video
Retirement on the edge
Posted: at 1:25 am
I heard a retirement planning horror story this morning, and I'll share it with you.
Because the law changed this year, making it simpler and more financially advantageous, more companies with frozen defined benefit retirement plans are offering employees and former employees a lump-sum payout. If you decide to accept their offer -- you don't have to; they can't force you -- think hard about what you're going to do with this pot of money. Here's why.
I was talking with the maintenance man at the building where I'm living this winter. He does a great job, and I've been very appreciative. But I thought he was working much too hard, and I told him so.
He told me that he's 66 and working seven days a week because he needs the money to live on and to replenish his savings. The reason, he says, was the illness of his late wife. He was an engineer who took early retirement from a company where he had worked for 30 years. He received his pension in a lump sum. Neither he nor his wife were old enough to qualify for Medicare. After their eligibility for his company insurance ran out, they didn't buy private insurance. Instead, they went without, hoping to get by until Medicare kicked in. It was a bad bet. His wife became seriously ill. Before she died, they spent their entire nest egg on medical care.
Stories like that are scary -- and not all that uncommon. If you opt for a lump sum, get help investing it safely -- maybe put some of it in a private annuity -- and buy long-term care insurance to protect yourself from medical disasters that can wipe you out.
Don't let that pot of money slip away. Unless you win the lottery, it's probably all you're going to get.
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Retirement on the edge
The Costliest States for Retirement
Posted: at 1:25 am
Planning to retire in 2012? You could be starting off at a disadvantage – financially, at least – if you live in one of these 10 states.
TopRetirements.com, a guide to retirement destinations and communities, recently published its list of the 10 worst states for retirement, looking primarily at financial considerations. In specific, the site evaluated each state in terms of its fiscal health, property taxes, state income taxes and cost of living. (The survey also included climate as a yardstick, under the assumption that most retirees “have a bias toward places with warmer winters.”)
The results: Retirees in the Northeast and Midwest will likely feel a greater pinch than their counterparts elsewhere in the country. Here are the states where your retirement dollars might not go as far as you wish:
1. Connecticut. Finished first (or last, depending on your perspective). The survey noted that Connecticut has some great towns for retirees and “considerable charm” – but those charms come at a price: steep property and incomes taxes, and a high cost of living.
2. Illinois. Actually, most pensions and Social Security payments aren’t taxed, but Illinois’s economic troubles – including deficit spending, unemployment and foreclosure rates – are “among the worst of any states,” according to the report.
3. Rhode Island. Again, high property taxes, coupled with underfunded pension and health liabilities and budget deficits.
4. Vermont. Residents face “very high” median property and incomes taxes, according to the study, as well as a top 10 cost of living.
5. Massachusetts. The good news: Social Security income and most government pensions are exempt from taxation. The not-so-good news: property taxes that are among the highest in the country.
[Also see: 5 American Cities Nearly Destroyed by the Recession]
Rounding out the bottom 10: New Jersey, Minnesota, New York, Maine and Wisconsin.
This is the second year that TopRetirements.com has ranked states as retirement destinations according to financial factors. The goal, according to the study: “to try to help baby boomers understand where, all other things being equal, they can enjoy their hard-earned retirement without taking on more problems.”
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The Costliest States for Retirement
Take Your Retirement on the Road
Posted: at 1:25 am
Lee Harrison and Julie Lowrey enjoyed long and successful careers in the nuclear power industry in New York. But as retirement age approached, Harrison began to wonder if he’d have enough money to support the kind of retirement lifestyle he and his wife Julie had long been looking forward to.
[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
Harrison made a very good living, but there wasn’t a lot left over after paying for Manhattan living expenses. Then something fortuitous happened. The engineering firm where Harrison and Lowrey were working was bought out by a larger one. Harrison, then age 49, saw the corporate restructuring as a chance for a bigger change.
Just as his company was remaking itself, Harrison began to imagine another approach to retirement. Browsing in a bookstore one afternoon, Harrison discovered a guide to retirement in Costa Rica. This book introduced him to retirement possibilities he’d never before considered.
Costa Rica, and countries like it, offer a desirable retirement lifestyle at a dramatically reduced cost. Retirement aboard also gives you an opportunity for a great adventure, and could allow you to retire years earlier than if you stayed in the U.S.
Harrison and Lowrey eventually decided against moving to Costa Rica. But instead of sticking around to continue moving up the company ladder after the restructuring, they decided to move to Cuenca, Ecuador.
[See The Real Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
But Cuenca was not the last stop in their retirement overseas adventure. After two years in Cuenca, the couple relocated to Uruguay’s Gold Coast. They called Punta del Este home for more than seven years. And now they are in the process of moving to Medellin, Colombia. "Medellin may be the pinnacle of our evolving retire overseas experience,” says Harrison. "I think this may be our last stop. Based on our 10 years of experience living and traveling around both Central and South America, it's hard to imagine somewhere better than here." Harrison and Lowrey have purchased an apartment in central Medellin and are in the process of selling their home in Punta del Este.
Serial retirement isn’t for everyone. There are many challenges associated with moving around to several countries the way Harrison and Lowrey have. But each stage of this journey has contributed to a rich, full, and rewarding retirement experience that continues to unfold.
Perhaps the best part is that Harrison and Lowrey are living what could be called a lifestyle of the rich and famous. They have been moving around from exotic locale to exotic locale, taking in one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines and living in an international jet-set destination.
[See 6 Affordable Places to Retire Abroad in 2012.]
Had they stayed in the U.S., Harrison and Lowrey would be living an average retirement lifestyle at best. They might even still be working. Taking their retirement on the road has allowed them to super-charge their standard of living, while reducing their expenses. They’re discovering some of the best lifestyle options the world has to offer, at a young age, without spending a fortune.
Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group. With more than 25 years experience covering this beat, Kathleen reports daily on current opportunities for living, retiring, and investing overseas in her free e-letter. Her book, How To Retire Overseas—Everything You Need To Know To Live Well Abroad For Less, was recently released by Penguin Books.
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Take Your Retirement on the Road
David Bowie – Retired or ‘Disappeared’? – Video
Posted: January 30, 2012 at 2:14 am
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David Bowie - Retired or 'Disappeared'? - Video
Stefan Liv – "The Memories Live On" – Jersey Retirement – Swedish (HD) – Video
Posted: January 29, 2012 at 12:18 pm
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Stefan Liv - "The Memories Live On" - Jersey Retirement - Swedish (HD) - Video
Transition To Retirement Can Leave People Feeling Unmoored
Posted: at 12:18 pm
Posted: Jan. 29, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
When the Rev. Jerry Blankinship retired as chaplain at Sunrise
Hospital and Medical Center, it felt right.
"I had worked for almost 50 years in one pastoral ministry or
another and 32 years at Sunrise as chaplain," says Blankinship,
78, who even had waited until he was almost 75 to retire
because, at 65, "I didn't feel like retiring at all.
"But I just felt -- I don't know how to put it, except to say
that enough is enough. It was time."
So, just more than 2½ years ago, Blankinship retired. Two
months later, he began to feel physically and mentally
exhausted. Adrift. Depressed.
All about doing something millions of American worker bees
dream about, the good Lord and Social Security willing, doing
themselves someday.
It turns out that retirement can be a tough transition, at
least for some prospective retirees, and Blankinship's reaction
to the prospect of days upon months upon years of clockless
free time isn't uncommon.
The problem often begins when prospective retirees think of
retirement only in terms of subtraction, by eliminating the
responsibilities of a job from their lives but not thinking
about what they might replace it with.
"I think a lot of it is people often want to get off the
treadmill, they want to get out of the grind," says Dr. Lisa
Rosenberg, a geriatrics specialist and assistant professor of
medicine at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic
Medicine. "But, for many people, their plan is not to do
anything, and that's not good for us physically or mentally."
Inactivity can make retirees "prone to depression" and diminish
"cognition, our ability to think and remember and process," she
says. "Our brains are like anything else: We lose our abilities
if we don't continue to use what we have."
Generally speaking -- and ignoring the issue of money, which,
alone, can go a long way toward shaping a retirement -- "the
people who are most successful in retirement ... are people who
have a plan of what to do with their time," Rosenberg says.
Some prospective retirees approach retirement with "almost like
a vacation mentality," notes Donna Wilburn, a licensed marriage
and family therapist.
"When you go into retirement, you expect it to feel like a
vacation. Then you are going through the honeymoon phase, which
feels like a vacation and might be one month or six months. But
once reality hits you that you're not going back, then you have
to restructure your identity: What am I supposed to do for the
next 20 years?
"Now it hits you. You feel empty. You don't feel like you have
a purpose. You feel kind of aimless," Wilburn says. "And people
are not expecting that. There's no retirement counseling, that,
'OK, you're ready to retire. We're going to send you to a
counselor so you can understand the process.' "
Blankinship felt more than ready to begin this new phase in his
life, joking that he even had studied geriatric issues as part
of his counseling training. He felt fortunate that he was
retiring on his own schedule, that his finances were in place,
and that he had activities and friends to keep him busy.
But what Blankinship didn't expect was discovering how strongly
he was "self-identified by my job. And when I was no longer
senior chaplain at Sunrise Hospital, I began to wonder, 'Who
the heck am I?' and 'Who am I now?'
"I had defined myself by what I did, like I think most people
do. We define ourselves by what we do, and when you aren't
doing something, then there's kind of a moment where you say,
'My gosh, who am I?' And, I became depressed."
It's not uncommon, Wilburn says. For some newly minted
retirees, "the loss of identity and purpose is huge. It can
trigger a major depression."
Men tend to do it more often than women, Wilburn says, while
Rosenberg notes that it is particularly common among
professionals.
"A lot of businesspeople, doctors and lawyers are kind of
classic people who can't let go because their identity is very
much tied to what they got paid for," Rosenberg says. "So, it's
healthy even before retirement to have other outlets -- an
artistic outlet or a strong network of friends -- because if
your whole life is work and you leave, you're really stuck
starting over."
Doctors, teachers, ministers and others in helping professions
also may find themselves more susceptible to a rougher
transition from workplace to retirement.
"They've become very accustomed to people needing them, and it
can be quite addicting to feel needed," Rosenberg says. "So if
people are used to feeling needed and appreciated ... people
can miss that."
Not even a two-month transition period during which Blankinship
worked part time with his successor helped to ease his
transition into retirement.
"The day I turned in my keys and beeper, it was a loss," he
says. "It was a period of grief. I came home and didn't know
what to do with myself. I was depressed and I was sleeping,
like, 12 or 14 hours a day. I was so tired."
The sudden separation from daily contact with workplace friends
and colleagues -- "the interplay, the camaraderie" -- also hit
home, Blankinship recalls. "All I wanted to do was sleep.
"Then I went to see a doctor -- my regular family doctor -- and
he nailed it when he said, 'You're in a grieving process.' "
Janice Alpern, 72, retired in 2006 from her job as a customer
service representative for the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
When she retired, Alpern discovered that a paycheck represents
more than money.
"One of the first feelings was the paycheck and that you have
no worth without a paycheck," she explains. "That was my
feeling: That you do something, you get your paycheck, and that
was a reward for your hard work and you earned your reward."
Like Blankinship, Alpern loved her job and was confident that
it was time to move on. But she, too, was surprised to find
that she missed the routine of her job, the people with whom
she worked and the satisfaction she gained from doing her job
well.
Then there was the matter of simply filling a large chunk of
time each day. "The week loomed large," Alpern says, "and I
didn't know how to fill it."
Then, Alpern heard about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She signed up for a few
programs and, during an open house, saw a booth for the Nevada
AARP and became a volunteer for the organization.
Alpern notes that most workers who are planning to retire
review their finances and the other nuts-and-bolts aspects of
living without a regular paycheck. But, she says, few take the
time to figure out what they'll actually do during retirement.
"So many of us are living longer," she says, "and you need to
fill your time in meaningful ways."
Margaret "Peg" Rees, vice provost for educational outreach at
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says new retirees who are
seeking activities to pursue in retirement often do begin with
classes and programs offered through UNLV.
"I think people just switch their energy into new directions,"
she says. "Some cook, some come back to school to get retooled,
some take professional development classes and some go off in
an entirely new employment direction. Even when we look at the
university/academic side, we have people that are in their 70s
and 80s finishing their degrees because that's something
they've never been able to do and, now, want to and have the
time and resources to do it."
Also beneficial, Rees says, is that such programs offer
retirees a reason to get out of the house and a way to make
social contacts. (For more information, visit http://continuingeducation.unlv.edu
or call 895-5486.)
Social isolation can lead retirees into depression, Rosenberg
notes. "People who have strong social ties tend to be
physically and mentally healthier. Isolation is bad."
Blankinship toughed out his depression for about three months.
Then, he says, "a pastor friend of mine took me out to lunch
and said, 'How are you doing?' I said I wasn't doing very
good.' "
The friend suggested that Blankinship take on a bit -- just a
little bit -- of volunteer work. Blankinship did, "just a
couple (of) hours of work a week at the church" and doing a few
home visits.
"The thing I discovered is that there needs to be some routine
in your life. The difference between working and not working
is, the routine is optional, but it's still important," he
says.
Today, Blankinship schedules standing get-togethers -- lunches,
dinners and other events -- with friends and family. He
volunteers. He reads (mostly history), takes in movies ("I've
seen probably more movies in the three years since I retired
than I did the 32 years I was at Sunrise" ) and has more easily
embraced the new rhythms of retired life. Also, helping to
reinforce his daily routine is caring for Glamis, his
enthusiastically friendly mixed-breed dog.
Blankinship says he now enjoys retirement, largely because he
has been able to create a new identity for himself that isn't
built upon what he does.
"Little by little, through the help of some friends, not so
much intentionally but just by accident of nature, I began to
realize that who I am is not dependent on what I do, that who I
am is who I am," he says. "I'm a father. I'm a grandfather. I'm
a friend. It doesn't have to do with academic degrees or clergy
ordination."
Based on her own experience, Alpern suggests that those who are
considering retirement give serious thought about how they wish
to spend it. She also suggests checking resources such as those
at UNLV "ahead of time," and urges prospective retirees to "not
be one-dimensional" but, instead, seek out a variety of
interests to pursue.
Rosenberg suggests building social networks through clubs,
alumni groups and professional organizations before retiring,
while Blankinship urges prospective retirees to give as much
thought to the emotional aspects of retirement as they do to
their finances and other basic necessities of retirement.
And, Blankinship suggests, think positively.
"I would think you need to look at the glass as half-full," he
says. "I think we all could complain about things, but what
good does that get you?"
In fact, Blankinship now realizes that one of retirement's
blessings is the array of choices it offers.
"I think when I first was retired, I didn't realize how many
choices I had," he says, smiling. "You've got zillions of
choices. You could do anything."
These days, when Blankinship stops by the hospital to visit
somebody, "everybody is glad to see me and they say, 'Would you
ever think of coming back?' "
Blankinship laughs. "No. No, no, no."
Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or
702-383-0280.
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Transition To Retirement Can Leave People Feeling Unmoored
★ Nicktoons MLB – Retiring, The Right Way ft. ZevHadar – WAY➚ – Video
Posted: January 28, 2012 at 6:28 am
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★ Nicktoons MLB - Retiring, The Right Way ft. ZevHadar - WAY➚ - Video
AP CEO Tom Curley Announces His Retirement – Video
Posted: at 6:28 am