Gymnast Paul Hamm announced his retirement on March 27, 2012, because his body was struggling to complete the necessary training, he said. Hamm's retirement effectively ends an era in American gymnastics.

Who can forget the Hamm twins, who burst onto the international Olympic scene at such a young age, and consistently defied the odds to perform well at big gymnastic meets?

Paul Hamm helped to usher in a new era for men's gymnastics in the United States -- an era in which the American men vaulted from obscurity to prominence on the world scene. With his performances at the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games, Hamm became the first American male gymnast to ever win a world or Olympic all-around title -- and he did both.

In addition, he helped to lead the U.S. team to its first Olympic silver medal in 20 years in 2004, and Hamm was an integral part of the 2001 and 2003 American world championship teams that also won silver.

"Becoming the first world and Olympic all-around champion from the U.S. is a huge statement about his talent," Steve Penny, the director of USA Gymnastics, said in a statement. "It's also made a difference in USA gymnastics emerging from a team that struggled to make the podium to a team that's consistently on the podium. Paul Hamm raised the bar in men's gymnastics in this country and worldwide, and we're continuing to benefit from the role he played."

Hamm's Olympic career is a storied and turbulent one, which includes a judging controversy in 2004 and an injury that kept him from competing in 2008. Hamm hoped that a comeback in 2012 would allow him a strong performance to cap off his Olympic career, but his retirement announcement, just four months before the London Olympic Games, proved that the comeback wouldn't happen.

Hamm returned to the sport in 2010, and by January of 2011, the gymnast had to undergo surgery to heal a torn labrum and rotator cuff. In the end, the injuries simply became too much to handle, Hamm said.

"It's come to that time," Hamm told The Associated Press on March 27, 2012 "Your mind wants an outcome a certain way, and it used to be a certain way, but you can't get your body to perform that certain way. And I can see it."

Hamm added: "I'm able to just look back at the gymnastics and the performance and remember it for a great thing. I understand the things that happened in my life, it's just a part of the whole story. But overall, I feel the journey I had in the sport of gymnastics was a tremendous journey and very productive for me and my life, and the person I've become."

Sandra Johnson is an avid Olympic fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee and living in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Johnson had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Olympic Movement. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46

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Paul Hamm Announces His Retirement from Gymnastics

3/26/2012 6:16 PM ET

By Robert Powell, MarketWatch.com

With many Americans short of the savings they'll need to retire comfortably, the forecast looks grim. These are some of the areas were action is clearly needed.

President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union speech back in January, didn't really touch on the subject near and dear to the hearts of millions of Americans -- the state of retirement in the U.S.

No doubt he had other pressing matters to address. So allow us the pleasure of issuing -- thanks in large part to many experts on the topic -- our state of retirement column.

In short: Things are bad and, in the absence of action or in the presence of ill-advised action, they could get much worse.

"I think the state of retirement in America is endangered, as the Great Recession has taken a toll on the financial status of many and as retirement savings were not adequate for many prior to the Great Recession," said Matthew Greenwald, the president of Matthew Greenwald & Associates, a leading retirement-research firm.

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Retirement rescue needed

The average income that workers can expect from their pensions has fallen by 13,000 a year since the Millennium (Sao Paolo: TIBR3.SA - news) , actuaries say.

While a 30-year-old in 2000 could have expected a pension of two thirds of final salary, he or she is now in line for just 39pc of salary. Assuming that the average salary on retirement is 48,450, this equates to a fall of 13,000, according to the Alexander Forbes National Pension Index.

Even a year ago the worker could have expected 45pc of final salary. The figures are for someone saving 12pc of salary into a defined-contribution pension scheme. The pattern of pension income expectations is similar for other age groups, the company added.

Pension savers have been hit by a toxic combination of turmoil in the financial markets, rising longevity and falling annuity rates. Workers who don't belong to generous final salary schemes which are dying out in the private sector must build up a pension pot, which is used to buy an annuity or income for life at retirement.

The value of their pots has been hit by falls in the stock market, while annuity rates have fallen sharply as a result of declining yields on government gilts.

Alan Carey of Alexander Forbes Consultants & Actuaries said: The Governments quantitative easing programme has adversely impacted annuity rates, which in turn has seriously hurt peoples retirement income expectations. Hopefully gilt yields, which influence annuity rates, will recover to some extent when QE stops, improving annuity rates and reversing the worst of the serious deterioration over the last year.

The latest figures make difficult reading for people saving for their retirement, but the news is not all bad. Pensions remain one of the most tax-efficient ways for people to make long term savings; many employers make generous contributions to DC pension savings, which is in effect additional deferred pay for workers and by taking advantage of workplace salary sacrifice people can boost their pension savings further.

"The real message of this years National Pension Index is that people need to understand and take control of their own pension savings as soon as possible, as a few low cost changes made early can make all the difference to peoples financial security in retirement.

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Retirement incomes fall by £13,000 since Millennium

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

National Planning Holdings, Inc. (NPH), one of the nations largest independent broker-dealer networks, today named Frank Hayn to the position of vice president of retirement plans. Mr. Hayn, 37, fills a new position for the NPH network and will be tasked with supporting existing retirement plan business on the NPH platform, as well as helping NPH representatives grow their practices in the qualified plan space.

Hayn will report to John C. Johnson, first vice president of sponsor relations for NPH, and will be based in the networks Santa Monica headquarters. Under Hayns direction, the NPH network will expand its service offerings for advisers seeking to develop retirement plan and 401(k) business. He will also oversee new support programs that help NPH representatives address evolving compliance regulations as they work with plan sponsors on their retirement plan offerings.

Frank brings a wealth of experience in the qualified plan market to NPH and will be a valuable resource to our representatives as they seek to engage small to mid-size businesses in the 401(k) arena, said Mr. Johnson. The retirement plan space represents a significant opportunity for advisers to expand their practices by working as a consultant to companies that are looking to enhance their benefit plans.

Mr. Hayn comes to NPH from SunAmerica, Inc., where he served as director of 401(k) sales since 2005 and 401(k) sales manager from 2000 to 2005. Prior to SunAmerica, Hayn was a retirement plans marketing specialist for New York Life Investment Management LLC from 1997 to 2000. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 registrations and is a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist. Hayn received an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and a B.A. from the University of Rochester.

National Planning Holdings, Inc. is an affiliate of Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson National Life Insurance Company (Jackson). For more information about the four independent broker-dealers in the National Planning Holdings network, please visit:

About National Planning Holdings, Inc.

National Planning Holdings, Inc. (NPH) is a broker-dealer holding company and an affiliate of Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson National Life Insurance Company. NPH serves as the holding company for the independent broker-dealers INVEST Financial Corporation, Investment Centers of America, National Planning Corporation, and SII Investments, Inc. Collectively, the NPH broker-dealer network currently has 3,636 registered representatives as of 12/31/11. NPH and Jackson are wholly owned by Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK - News), a company incorporated and with its principal place of business in the United Kingdom. Prudential plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America.

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National Planning Holdings®, Inc. Names Frank Hayn Vice President of Retirement Plans

Dear Debt Adviser, I'm 37 years old, married with three kids, and I have about $15,000 in college debt from my MBA expenses. Should I withdraw retirement savings from my 401(k) or Roth individual retirement account to pay off the debt? I'm sick of having this debt and want to be done with it now. Can I avoid penalties if the retirement money is used to pay off student loans? -- Randy

Dear Randy, With three kids, I would have expected you to have developed more patience by now. Still, 37 is young in the scheme of things. Here's some advice from someone who has been patience-challenged for decades longer than you and comes from a family whose patriarch thought impatience was the most beautiful flower.

I have a three-part answer to your question.

You are responsible for a spouse and three children. Though it may be argued that she is equally responsible for you and the kids, we are talking about you -- and you are most certainly on the hook.

In my experience as a father and husband, I can tell you there is a very good chance in the next five to 10 years the $15,000 you are considering withdrawing may be needed for something more important than retiring an education debt you are "sick of having." Life has a way of sending the unexpected our way at the least convenient time, and often the unanticipated event(s) comes with a high price tag attached. It is hoped you have an emergency savings account of six to 12 months' of living expenses put aside to help fund life's financial curveballs, but you may find additional funds are required.

Also, the $15,000 you remove from retirement funds now could, if left where it is, be worth in the neighborhood of $80,000 by the time you're 67. Even when you take into consideration inflation, you could be missing out on the equivalent of $40,000 if you remove the $15,000 now. As an MBA, you'll no doubt appreciate the time value of money.

Let me suggest that a better idea may be to develop a plan to pay down your college debt more quickly.

Let's do some math. If we assume you have another 10 years to pay on your loan and your interest rate is 6%, your monthly payment is approximately $167 per month. If you were to add an additional $500 to each payment, for a total of $667 each month, your debt would be paid off in two short years. To pay off the debt in one year, you would need to boost your monthly payment by $1,125.

Whether you pay off your student loans sooner or later, my guess is once you know this debt is heading for the door, you won't feel the need to incur a penalty to send it on its way immediately.

Should you decide to withdraw retirement savings from your IRA, I would recommend you consult with a tax-planning professional to assure that you follow all the proper procedures. You do not want to complicate an already bad financial move with a problem with the Internal Revenue Service.

See the original post here:
Pay Student Loans With Retirement Savings?

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The youngest of Generation X will celebrate their 30th birthdays this year, pushing this key demographic into their prime income earning years and establishing them as the benchmark for new retirement saving trends. Gen X showed this past year they are not only saving for their retirement, but they arent wasting any more time.

Drastically more Gen Xers (born 1967 to 1982, ages 29 to 44) reported this year than last that they started saving for retirement between the ages of 25 and 34, according to Scottrade, Inc.s sixth annual American Retirement Study. This year, 51 percent reported starting their retirement savings in this age range, compared to 39 percent last year. This generation demonstrated they are learning from their elders to save earlier. Just 30 percent of Baby Boomers and 21 percent of Seniors started saving for retirement at 25 to 34 years of age.

The study also found the percentage of Gen Xers who reported having less than $25,000 saved for retirement continued its downward trend (53 percent in 2010, 45 percent in 2011 and 44 percent in 2012), while the number reporting retirement savings of $25,001 to $100,000 maintained upward momentum. In 2012, 20 percent said they have between $25,001 and $100,000 saved, compared to 17 percent in 2011 and 14 percent in 2010.

To aid their retirement savings goals, notably more Gen Xers hold a tax-deferred account today than a year ago and the majority, at 71 percent, reported saving some portion of their 2011 income for retirement. Even more, at 85 percent, plan to save some portion of this years earnings for retirement.

With a retirement horizon spanning into the 2050s, Gen Xers have decades of income-earning years ahead of them, said Derrick Brooks, Scottrades director of online investor solutions. They are recognizing the need to save now and seizing the opportunity.

To help them reach their retirement goals, Scottrade is committed to developing solutions so they can research, trade and monitor their investments in real-time, Brooks said. Scottrade understands that self-directed investors and traders have their own investment strategies and utilize the tools we offer in individual ways, and we work hard to continue to be an ally for them.

Through our branch office network, our online trading community, social media channels and usability testing, we are able to listen to our clients, gather their suggestions and continue to expand upon the features and functionalities of our online investing and trading tools, Brooks said. By developing new tools such as our mobile trading app and offering customizable account pages, clients can access the information they want when they need it to make informed trading decisions.

Last week alone Scottrade rolled out two new updates to its trading website: a Quick Trade bar that enables clients to place trades as they navigate from page to page; and a Ratings and Reports tab, which is an at-a-glance view of research items, including S&P Rankings, Reuters Ratings and MarketEdge Opinion.

The company also continues to enhance its offering of investment vehicles beyond its trademark $7 online stock trades to include a variety of IRA types, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to meet diverse investing strategies. In 2011, Scottrade rolled out a suite of retail banking products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts affording the ability to easily move money and manage finances between banking and brokerage accounts accessed with a single login.

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Scottrade Research Findings: Gen X Motivated to Save, Takes Action to Plan Retirement

Dear Debt Adviser, I'm 37 years old, married with three kids, and I have about $15,000 in college debt from my MBA expenses. Should I withdraw retirement savings from my 401(k) or Roth individual retirement account to pay off the debt? I'm sick of having this debt and want to be done with it now. Can I avoid penalties if the retirement money is used to pay off student loans? -- Randy

Dear Randy, With three kids, I would have expected you to have developed more patience by now. Still, 37 is young in the scheme of things. Here's some advice from someone who has been patience-challenged for decades longer than you and comes from a family whose patriarch thought impatience was the most beautiful flower.

I have a three-part answer to your question.

You are responsible for a spouse and three children. Though it may be argued that she is equally responsible for you and the kids, we are talking about you -- and you are most certainly on the hook.

In my experience as a father and husband, I can tell you there is a very good chance in the next five to 10 years the $15,000 you are considering withdrawing may be needed for something more important than retiring an education debt you are "sick of having." Life has a way of sending the unexpected our way at the least convenient time, and often the unanticipated event(s) comes with a high price tag attached. It is hoped you have an emergency savings account of six to 12 months' of living expenses put aside to help fund life's financial curveballs, but you may find additional funds are required.

Also, the $15,000 you remove from retirement funds now could, if left where it is, be worth in the neighborhood of $80,000 by the time you're 67. Even when you take into consideration inflation, you could be missing out on the equivalent of $40,000 if you remove the $15,000 now. As an MBA, you'll no doubt appreciate the time value of money.

Let me suggest that a better idea may be to develop a plan to pay down your college debt more quickly.

Let's do some math. If we assume you have another 10 years to pay on your loan and your interest rate is 6 percent, your monthly payment is approximately $167 per month. If you were to add an additional $500 to each payment, for a total of $667 each month, your debt would be paid off in two short years. To pay off the debt in one year, you would need to boost your monthly payment by $1,125.

Whether you pay off your student loans sooner or later, my guess is once you know this debt is heading for the door, you won't feel the need to incur a penalty to send it on its way immediately.

Should you decide to withdraw retirement savings from your IRA, I would recommend you consult with a tax-planning professional to assure that you follow all the proper procedures. You do not want to complicate an already bad financial move with a problem with the Internal Revenue Service.

See the original post here:
Should you raid retirement to pay college debt?

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Determining your retirement number is like getting on the bathroom scale: Sometimes it's a pleasant surprise; however, more often than not it forces you to face an ugly truth. Just as taking the dreaded step onto the scale is a necessary part of the weight-loss process, so too is crunching the numbers for retirement planning. According to recent research, only 40 percent of American workers have taken the time and effort to complete a retirement needs calculation. Without going through that process, you're flying blind into your retirement. That's why when I field questions about retirement - when to retire, how to invest for retirement - I always reiterate the big picture. Start with a plan, and the rest will become crystal clear!

Joe from NY had done planning, but now must revisit the numbers, after the heavy impact of college education. He's worried that he won't have enough money for retirement and is "not sure what the magic number is." The problem is, the magic number is different for everyone, so its best to crunch the numbers for your specific situation. I like the EBRI Choose to Save Ballpark E$timate, which is easy to use, but your retirement plan/401(k) website probably has a tool available as well.

The retirement outlook looks good for Ralph from Kentucky, but after being spooked by the stock market, he moved to cash and now needs a way to get back into the fray. I have fielded a lot of these questions recently and want to remind everyone that a diversified portfolio can help shield you from making a bad choice at market bottoms and tops. That's why I told Tim to focus less on sector funds and a high concentration in commodities and instead go broad, as in broadly-diversified portfolios. It's also why Phil from Boston and Bryan from CA should stick to the basic bond, domestic and international index funds at Fidelity, when they roll over their old retirement accounts.

With evidence that the housing market is inching towards recovery, the calls about what to do with real estate are on the rise. Wayne, who listens to us on KFGO in Fargo, ND is trying to determine whether to sell land and invest the proceeds, while Jose from CA is weighing the sale of a rental property. You'll hear me provide different advice to each of them.

Jason recently sold his house and is torn between building a new home and buying an existing home in central Arizona. As with most questions on real estate, location really matters. Noe in Houston is choosing between expanding a current home or buying a new home with a small mortgage.

Speaking of mortgages, Todd from Baltimore is about to inherit a chink of money and wants to know if he should use it to pay off his mortgage or if should invest the money? The answer is a bit more complicated, as I essentially ran through a mini-financial plan with him.

Read the original here:
Jill on Money: Retirement number, funds, housing

Most workers dream of the day when they swap their business attire for shorts and trade in business meetings for time on the links. Maintaining your desired lifestyle in retirement without a steady paycheck takes discipline and extensive planning, and theres no one-size-fits-all approach.

There is a high correlation between the action people take and seeing results, says Jean Setzfand, vice president forFinancial Security at AARP. She adds that the level of action in financial planning is a good predictor for financial freedom when the golden years roll around.

How someone fares financially after retirement is directly tied to three factors-- their salary level at retirement, how long they work beyond 65 and how much and whether they save in a defined-contribution retirement plan during their working lifetime, says Nevin Adams, director of education and external relations and co-director of EBRI Center for Research on Retirement Income.

Know Where You Spend Money

Whether youre planning for retirement or in retirement, knowing your expenses is important. Not just your fixed expenses, like rent and food, but also your discretionary expenses, like vacations and other payments that dont occur monthly, says Michael Goodman, certified public accountant and president at Wealthstream Advisors.

Many budgets dont change significantly in retirement, especially if they stay in the same home, but, for example, there are adjustments for travel or whether someone eats out more or less. As people age, their budgets will change and some costs will disappear, but these may be replaced by health-care costs, says Ted Sarenski, certified public accountant financial planner and CEO of Blue Ocean Strategic Capital.

With life expectancy for Americans at 78.1 years, according to the World Bank, 50% of the population lives beyond the life expectancy, says Goodman. Taking this into account, you should be conservative with your life expectancy when calculating how much money you will need.

Calculate How Much You Will Need

When calculating how much you will need to cover retirement funds, Goodman suggests using investment earnings and a portion of principal in a retirement account. And while planning for life after work should start in your 20s and 30s, realize that there will be a significant shift in lifestyle.

You should have different sources of income in retirement, says Sarenski. Social Security only replaces 25% to 30% of your preretirement income. If you need $50,000 for retirement annually while receiving $15,000 from Social Security for example, you calculate the amount of savings needed by dividing $35,000 ($50,000 minus $15,000) by a conservative 5% or multiplying $35,000 times 20 years. In this example, you would need $700,000 in savings.

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Financial Literacy Key to Sufficient Retirement Planning

Most retirement planning emphasizes financial considerations. How can I plan for the way I'll live after I leave work? -- David, Miami, Fla.

Many of us get so caught up in the financial aspects of preparing for retirement that we forget the reason we do all that saving, investing and planning in the first place: to have a meaningful and satisfying post-career life.

So "lifestyle" retirement planning is every bit as important as crunching the numbers, even if it doesn't always get the same attention.

If anything, lifestyle and financial retirement planning complement each other. After all, you can't really know how big a nest egg you'll need without having an idea of how you want to live in retirement. And the kind of life you'll be able to lead will depend in large part on how successful you are at accumulating savings.

It's essential to factor lifestyle considerations into your financial planning, especially in the ten years or so leading up to retirement. Here are four ways to do that:

1. Envision your future. As you enter the home stretch to retirement, you'll need to address big questions like whether to continue living in your current area or move to a new city or town like one of the 25 profiled in MONEY's Best Places to Retire.

But you'll want to focus on small-picture issues too, even down to how you'll actually spend the hours of each day once your work routine no longer provides the structure for your day.

One way to sharpen your vision of the future is to rev up a tool like T. Rowe Price's Ready-2-Retire. Among other things, this tool allows you to pick different retirement activities (travel, pursuing creative interests, going back to school, etc.) and then prioritize them based on how important each is to you.

How I'm easing into retirement

For a deeper dive, you may want to attend one of the growing number of pre-retirement seminars that can help you manage the transition from the work-a-day to retirement. For example, the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement in Asheville, N.C., offers two three-day "Paths to Creative Retirement" workshops each year where participants explore options for retirement and figure out which are the best fit with their goals and values.

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Retirement lifestyle