By MARK WHITEHOUSE – WALL STREET JOURNAL America’s baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—face a problem that could weigh on the economy for years to come: The longer it takes for the economy to recover, the less money they’ll have to spend in retirement. Policy makers have long worried that Americans aren’t saving enough [...]

A ruling by a judge, who in one case said Edison International did ‘substantial’ harm to employees by not negotiating lower fees from the firm running the 401(k) plan, may bolster other lawsuits. By Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times – July 29, 2010 For decades, high fees have quietly but steadily eaten away at the [...]

As the stock market has improved, more investors have shifted their concern from weathering the financial crisis to anticipating the inflationary effects of rising federal spending and debt. Many folks are asking how they can prepare for potentially higher inflation. This article explores two basic ways to address inflation uncertainty and highlights asset groups that [...]

by Bob Veres All of a sudden, it seems like everybody in the financial planning world is talking about Roth IRAs and Roth conversions.  In fact, an article in Financial Planning magazine–one of the trade magazines in our world–recently proclaimed 2010 “The Year of the Roth.” What’s the big deal?  Roth IRAs are interesting to [...]

“Merrill Lynch, with Wal-Mart’s blessing, was choosing mutual funds based on payments that the funds would make to Merrill Lynch,” says Braden attorney Derek Loeser of Keller Rohrback in Seattle, Wash. “This explains the anomaly of a $10 billion plan ending up with off-the-shelf retail funds that just so happen to share revenue.” Forbes magazine [...]

Research indicates that humans are not naturally wired for prudent, long-term investing. Scott Bosworth, Vice President and Regional Director, describes common forms of behavioral bias and discusses how these biases influence investment decision making. He also explains how knowledge and discipline can help investors control their instincts for a better investment outcome. (Running time: 20:00) [...]

IRA accounts are designed for retirement. If a person decides they want to access their account prior to age 59 1/2, they will incur a Federal Income Tax penalty for early withdrawal of 10% of the amount withdrawn. In addition, the amount withdrawn is deemed ordinary income and taxed as such. If that weren’t bad [...]

This recent extremely volatile stock market has gotten many near retirees wondering about their future and how they can safely invest for their retirement. Many, like their grandparents following the Great Depression, are thinking they will not hold stocks. They are too volatile and risky. Savings accounts, Savings Bonds and maybe Treasury Bills will do [...]

The National Center for Policy Analysis has just released a report titled, “Ten Ways to Wreck Your Retirement.” I would have to say a big AMEN to their analysis in this paper. I have listed below the Executive Summary of the ten points. If you would like to read the entire 24 page report, you [...]