Archive for the ‘Retirement’ Category
Inadequate Savings Hinders Retirement Plans BMO Harris Survey Shows
Posted: March 20, 2012 at 2:37 pm
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Adequate retirement savings has become an issue of significant concern to members of every income bracket. It should come as no surprise that according to a recent BMO Harris survey, the majority of U.S. residents (57 percent) are not confident in their ability to save for their ideal retirement lifestyle. Approximately half of U.S. residents (52 percent) say they have/will or anticipate maybe having to delay their retirement and/or work part-time during retirement due to a shortage of retirement savings.
"This is a critical wake-up call to everyone, no matter what your age," said Pete Schmidt Vice President, M&I Wealth Management, a part of BMO Financial Group. "Our best advice - start now! Get smart about planning and saving for retirement, and get educated about the many strategies and tools available to help maximize your savings."
Schmidt provides the following tips to guide you as you review or initiate your retirement planning:
Meet with a professional: A financial advisor can provide the guidance you need to learn about the retirement planning process and assist you in creating a realistic retirement plan.You just might be surprised at some of the opportunities available to help build your nest egg.
Start Early: We can't say it enough. Start saving at an early age. Doing so gives you the advantage of compound interest, your money will be working for you every single day. Just ask your parents, they learned this lesson the hard way.
It's never too late: Don't be discouraged if you haven't been saving for retirement. Instead of giving up, like many people do, start now. Contact a financial advisor who can help you develop a plan for the best retirement that you can have.
Take advantage of your company 401(k): There are many advantages to 401(k) plans. Don't miss out on any of them. Although rare these days, some companies still offer to match your contributions (guidelines will vary by company). If there is no match, you still benefit because whatever you put into your 401(k) plan is tax-deferred. Don't forget that when you leave a company, you can take your 401(k) contributions with you or make a rollover into other retirement vehicles.
Consider a Roth IRA: A Roth IRA is a special type of retirement plan under U.S. law that is generally not taxed, provided certain conditions are met. Tax treatment is different for this plan because the tax break is granted on money withdrawn from the plan during retirement, rather than for money placed into the plan.
Commit to saving, even if you start small: Ben Franklin said it best, "A penny saved, is a penny earned."
Parents, educate your children: So many of us are learning the retirement lesson, save early and save often, the hard way. Share this knowledge with your children, and guide them to make saving an important part of their financial lives.
Excerpt from:
Inadequate Savings Hinders Retirement Plans BMO Harris Survey Shows
Lack of Confidence Delaying Retirement BMO Harris Survey Shows
Posted: at 2:37 pm
ST. LOUIS, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Adequate retirement savings has become an issue of significant concern to members of every income bracket. It should come as no surprise that according to a recent BMO Harris survey, the majority of U.S. residents (57 percent) are not confident in their ability to save for their ideal retirement lifestyle. Approximately half of U.S. residents (52 percent) say they have/will or anticipate maybe having to delay their retirement and/or work part-time during retirement due to a shortage of retirement savings.
"This is a critical wake-up call to everyone, no matter what your age," said Tom Thornton, Vice President, M&I Wealth Management, a part of BMO Financial Group. "Our best advice - start now! Get smart about planning and saving for retirement, and get educated about the many strategies and tools available to help maximize your savings."
Thornton provides the following tips to guide you as you review or initiate your retirement planning:
Meet with a professional: A financial advisor can provide the guidance you need to learn about the retirement planning process and assist you in creating a realistic retirement plan. You just might be surprised at some of the opportunities available to help build your nest egg.
Start Early: We can't say it enough. Start saving at an early age. Doing so gives you the advantage of compound interest, your money will be working for you every single day. Just ask your parents, they learned this lesson the hard way.
It's never too late: Don't be discouraged if you haven't been saving for retirement. Instead of giving up, like many people do, start now. Contact a financial advisor who can help you develop a plan for the best retirement that you can have.
Take advantage of your company 401(k): There are many advantages to 401(k) plans. Don't miss out on any of them. Although rare these days, some companies still offer to match your contributions (guidelines will vary by company). If there is no match, you still benefit because whatever you put into your 401(k) plan is tax-deferred. Don't forget that when you leave a company, you can take your 401(k) contributions with you or make a rollover into other retirement vehicles.
Consider a Roth IRA: A Roth IRA is a special type of retirement plan under U.S. law that is generally not taxed, provided certain conditions are met. Tax treatment is different for this plan because the tax break is granted on money withdrawn from the plan during retirement, rather than for money placed into the plan.
Commit to saving, even if you start small: Ben Franklin said it best, "A penny saved, is a penny earned."
Parents, educate your children: So many of us are learning the retirement lesson, save early and save often, the hard way. Share this knowledge with your children, and guide them to make saving an important part of their financial lives.
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Lack of Confidence Delaying Retirement BMO Harris Survey Shows
Retirement Wake up Call: Survey Shows Majority of U.S. Residents Shortage of Savings Will Delay Their Retirement
Posted: at 2:37 pm
PHOENIX, March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Adequate retirement savings has become an issue of significant concern to members of every income bracket. It should come as no surprise that according to a recent BMO Harris survey, the majority of U.S. residents (57 percent) are not confident in their ability to save for their ideal retirement lifestyle. Approximately half of U.S. residents (52 percent) say they have/will or anticipate maybe having to delay their retirement and/or work part-time during retirement due to a shortage of retirement savings.
"This is a critical wake-up call to everyone, no matter what your age," said Larry Skolnik, Vice President, M&I Wealth Management, a part of BMO Financial Group. "Our best advice, start now! Get smart about planning and saving for retirement, and get educated about the many strategies and tools available to help maximize your savings."
Skolnik provides the following tips to guide you as you review or initiate your retirement planning:
Meet with a professional: A financial advisor can provide the guidance you need to learn about the retirement planning process and assist you in creating a realistic retirement plan.You just might be surprised at some of the opportunities available to help build your nest egg.
Start Early: We can't say it enough. Start saving at an early age. Doing so gives you the advantage of compound interest, your money will be working for you every single day. Just ask your parents, they learned this lesson the hard way.
It's never too late: Don't be discouraged if you haven't been saving for retirement. Instead of giving up, like many people do, start now. Contact a financial advisor who can help you develop a plan for the best retirement that you can have.
Take advantage of your company 401(k): There are many advantages to 401(k) plans. Don't miss out on any of them.Although rare these days, some companies still offer to match your contributions (guidelines will vary by company). If there is no match, you still benefit because whatever you put into your 401(k) plan is tax-deferred. Don't forget that when you leave a company, you can take your 401(k) contributions with you or make a rollover into other retirement vehicles.
Consider a Roth IRA: A Roth IRA is a special type of retirement plan under U.S. law that is generally not taxed, provided certain conditions are met. Tax treatment is different for this plan because the tax break is granted on money withdrawn from the plan during retirement, rather than for money placed into the plan.
Commit to saving, even if you start small: Ben Franklin said it best, "A penny saved, is a penny earned."
Parents, educate your children: So many of us are learning the retirement lesson, save early and save often, the hard way. Share this knowledge with your children, and guide them to make saving an important part of their financial lives.
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Retirement Wake up Call: Survey Shows Majority of U.S. Residents Shortage of Savings Will Delay Their Retirement
Judy Diamond Associates Launches Online Database to Allow Institutions Selling Retirement Products to Target TPAs of …
Posted: at 1:35 am
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Judy Diamond Associates, the premier publisher of retirement industry prospecting tools and plan data, today announced the launch of the all-new Directory of Retirement TPAs, the best online source for searchable data on hundreds of third party administrators of 401(k) and retirement plans. Judy Diamond Associates obtains the information from the TPAs themselves annually and verifies the firms before including them.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100316/SUMMITLOGO )
The Directory of Retirement TPAs, formerly available only in print as the Directory of Third Party Retirement Plan Administrators, is a searchable, online database of contact and business information for third party retirement plan administrators. It provides financial institutions that sell a wide array of retirement products with a single source for selecting TPAs to administer their retirement offerings based on information provided by the administrators themselves. Information available to subscribers includes:
"Finding qualified TPAs who specialize in retirement products is a particular challenge for many financial institutions," said Steve Weitzner, CEO of Summit Business Media, which owns Judy Diamond Associates. "The Directory of Retirement TPAs compiles the largest collection of TPA business and contact information in the industry to deliver exactly what the market needs to identify the best administrators by using simple but effective search tools built into the database."
To learn more about The Directory of Retirement TPAs or any other Judy Diamond Associates product, please visit http://www.judydiamond.com or call 800-231-0669.
About Judy Diamond AssociatesJudy Diamond Associates, Inc. is the premier publisher of employee benefits industry prospecting tools and plan data. Our pension/retirement and health/welfare prospecting tools provide:
Judy Diamond Associates is a division of Summit Business Media.
About Summit Business MediaSummit Business Media is the leading B2B media and information company serving theinsurance,financial, legalandinvestment advisorymarkets.Summit strives to be "The Next Generation of Business Information" for executives and practitioners by providing breaking news and analysis, in-depth practice management strategies, business-building techniques and actionable data.Summit services the information needs of its customers through numerous channels, including digital, print, and live events.For more information, please visitwww.summitbusinessmedia.com.
4 moves to make you confident of your retirement
Posted: at 1:35 am
(MoneyWatch) The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) recently released its 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, and the results are quite depressing.
-- Just 14 percent of survey respondents are very confident they'll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. These results are the same as what was reported in 2009 and 2011.
-- Almost half of all survey respondents -- 42 percent -- cite job uncertainty as the most pressing financial issue facing most Americans. Only about one-fourth, or 28 percent, are very confident they'll have paid employment as long as they need it.
-- Many workers report they have virtually no savings; 60 percent say that the total value of their household savings is less than $25,000, excluding the value of their home and any pension benefits they expect to receive.
-- Almost two-thirds of respondents (62 percent) consider their current level of debt to be a problem.
-- Only 16 percent of those surveyed are very confident that their investments will grow in value.
How watching too much TV can ruin your retirement Retirement planning: How to do it right Invest in your health
Is there any good news about retirement out there? Being an optimist, my natural inclination is to dig deeper into the report to find some helpful insights, and I was successful in finding suggestions that can help increase your retirement confidence. These four suggestions might be difficult to implement, but nevertheless, they point to the tough steps people need to take to boost their retirement confidence.
1. Pay down your debt.
The percentage of employed people who reported that their level of debt is not a problem and that they have confidence in their ability to retire is more than five times higher than the percentage of workers who report that debt is a problem. Paying down your debt now -- before you retire and most likely will have less money coming in -- is one of the smartest steps you can take to create a stress-free retirement.
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4 moves to make you confident of your retirement
American Workers Insecure About Retirement Savings, Jobs
Posted: at 1:35 am
A new report indicates that Americans' confidence in their ability to retire comfortably remains near historic lows, and that many are also still concerned about job security.
The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, is the longest running retirement survey of its kind. It polls both workers and retirees on their perceptions of issues such as savings, job security and retirement, and the edition released this month revealed several troubling facts for American workers.
Retirement confidence remains historically low
The survey found only 14% of workers are very confident they will have the money needed to live comfortably in retirement.
Perhaps it is not surprising then that today's workers expect to stay employed longer. While only 11% of workers in 1991 expected to work past age 65, the most recent survey discovered 37% believe they will be working beyond that age.
However, some workers may find they have limited say in when they retire. The 2012 survey found half of current retirees left the workforce for reasons outside their control such as disabilities or downsizing.
Retirement savings not a priority
Workers may not feel prepared for retirement because many are not actively planning for it. Only 19% of workers feel very confident they are doing a good job preparing for retirement. Moreover, 56% of workers say they and/or their spouse have not tried to calculate how much they will need in retirement savings in order to live comfortably.
In addition, only 58% of workers are currently saving for retirement. Income appears to play a significant factor in whether a worker has saved money. Of those with household incomes greater than $75,000 annually, 93% have saved for retirement, compared to 35% of those earning less than $35,000.
For retirees, only slightly more than a quarter feel very confident they did a good job preparing for their retirement. Social Security is identified as a major source of income by 69% of current retirees.
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American Workers Insecure About Retirement Savings, Jobs
Fiserv Launches Innovative Retirement Planning Solution
Posted: at 1:35 am
BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV - News), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today unveiled Retirement Illustrator, an interactive and collaborative retirement income planning tool. Retirement Illustrator from Fiserv helps advisors present retirement spending requirements and distribution alternatives, overlaying risk events such as withdrawal, longevity, survivor needs and healthcare risks to ensure their clients greatest concerns are addressed throughout their planning and retirement phases.
Retirement Illustrator provides financial professionals with the ability to forecast varying market conditions and the impact financial products can have on an investors retirement outlook a powerful sales illustration tool in todays volatile market. A highly graphical analysis can be generated with clients face-to-face or collaboratively by phone. An unlimited number of scenarios can be created at the touch of a button, giving advisors a robust and unique way to display side-by-side comparisons of how different product solutions, life expectancies and an array of life choices can affect retirement income.
Our commitment to continual innovation of technology solutions to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our clients is reflected in the creation of Retirement Illustrator, said Cheryl Nash, president, Investment Services, Fiserv. Retirement Illustrator boasts support for the front-office component of the Fiserv convergence strategy. The underlying technology of the solution gives financial professionals a powerful way to illustrate real-life scenarios and the impact on an investors retirement plan in a simple, easy to understand manner.
Retirement Illustrator uses Monte Carlo technology to offer simulations of retirement plans in favorable and unfavorable market conditions. The solution answers investors most important questions, like What If I retire earlier or later?, What if I allocate less money or more money or What If I die before my spouse?, all illustrated with intuitive, graphical demonstrations, said Nash.
A highly scalable, enterprise-class, web-based application, Retirement Illustrator is hosted by one of the highly secure, SAS 70 compliant data centers from Fiserv.
Fiserv has more than 3.6 million accounts on its wealth management platform and over one million UMA sleeves. With its acquisitions of AdviceAmerica financial planning technology and CashEdge data aggregation capabilities, Fiserv remains the leader in the financial services industry with technology that can support all functions of a wealth management business.
About Fiserv
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV - News) is a leading global technology provider serving the financial services industry.Fiserv is driving innovation in payments, processing services, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and business insights and optimization. For six of the past eight years, Fiserv ranked No. 1 on the FinTech 100, an annual international listing of the top technology providers to the financial services industry. For more information, visit http://www.fiserv.com.
FISV-G
Original post:
Fiserv Launches Innovative Retirement Planning Solution
David McCann talks 2012 goals and retirement – Video
Posted: March 19, 2012 at 11:27 am
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David McCann talks 2012 goals and retirement - Video
Retirement Reactions – Video
Posted: at 9:49 am
Originally posted here:
Retirement Reactions - Video
Retirement Planner: Staying the course can pay dividends
Posted: at 9:49 am
What you see isn't always what you get.
I designed the "Mother of All Thumbwheels" that calculates Social Security benefits and the degree to which we will under- or overshoot our retirement income need. It also illustrates how much we will have in our retirement plans in 10, 20 and 30 years given different monthly contribution levels. It shows, for instance, that $500 a month for 10 years will accumulate to $91,000 if it earns 8 percent over that period. At 12 percent, the same $500 grows to $114,000. In 20 years, the comparable numbers are $294,000 and $494,000 respectively.
But, you may ask, who has been earning 12 percent when the total stock market, over the past five years, has had a compound average return of 2.11 percent per year? The answer would be anyone who just started investing exactly five years ago. Someone who started contributing in April 2007 has had an internal rate of return equal to 20 percent per year.
No way? Yes way. The share price of Vanguard's total market index today is exactly what it was in April 2007 -- $35 per share. Over the five-year span, however, the price has ranged from a low of $22 to a high of $38.
Anyone contributing $100 per month into a total stock market index fund was often buying shares in the mid-$20 range. A share bought for $22 could be sold today for $35, and that is a 59 percent profit. Believe me, a lot of shares over the past five years were bought at prices each month
Calculating the percentage profit we made on each monthly $100 investment and adding them all up brings us to a total account value of $10,272. Over the 60 months of investing, we contributed a total of $6,000. In simple terms, we can say that we had a five-year gain of $4,262 over what we put in, which is a 71 percent return. Divided by five years, it works out to be 14 percent per year.
But that's too simplistic. Remember that not all of the $6,000 was invested for five years. It built up gradually. Only the first $100 deposit was invested for all six years. The last deposit never got invested at all.
On average, then, we had $3,000 invested for the five-year period. Calculating on a napkin, we can see that our so-called "internal rate of return" or the return based on when the dollars were invested looks more like a $4,262 profit on a $3,000 five-year investment. That's a total gain of 141 percent which, when divided by five years works out to 28 percent per year.
When I do the same math on a calculator that takes compound interest into effect for each of the five years, the number works out to be 20 percent per year, but even this doesn't include the reinvested dividends of the total stock market that, during the same period, added almost 2 full percentage points to the gain, bringing the official number to 22 percent per year.
By now, I hope you are getting the point. If we stay the course during major crashes, our new inbound money will have enjoyed a huge rate of return by the time the market "snapback" has run its course.
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Retirement Planner: Staying the course can pay dividends