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10 Things Medicare Won't Tell You
Mar 11, 2013
The costly glitches in the government's massive entitlement program.
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How to Rollover a 401(k)
To get a clearer picture of your money, consolidating old workplace accounts to an IRA or your next employer plan makes a lot of sense.
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Is This the Best Time for Investors? Don't Bet On It.
These have been good times—surprisingly good times—for investors.Stock prices have hit record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has rocketed above 15000 for the first time, leaving even Wall Street bulls scrambling to raise their ...
WSJ.com - 12:34 AM ET
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Credit Unions Boost College Loans
Credit unions are offering more private student loans, creating new choices for borrowers grappling with high college costs.Nearly 590 of the nation's 6,955 credit unions offered student loans as of December, according to the Credit Union ...
WSJ.com - 12:33 AM ET
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Higher Yields in a Low-Interest World
The pickings are growing increasingly slim for retirees looking to boost the income generated by their savings.To earn yields of 5% or more, investors—who once would have relied on the relative safety of bank certificates of deposit or ...
WSJ.com - 4:00 AM ET
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Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Benefits
Let your decision on when to retire be a monetary one that will give you the best bang from your Social Security benefits."Most people still take their Social Security benefits as soon as they possibly can, and many of them are leaving ...
MarketWatch - May 18, 2013
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Draining IRAs too soon poses big risks; Don’t touch that IRA, but if you do...
Americans between the ages of 61 and 70 are withdrawing money from their IRAs in amounts that are larger, both in absolute dollar amounts and as a percentage of their IRA account balance, than those taken by older households, according to a ...
Barrons.com - May 18, 2013
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En Garde: Tax-Hike Investment Tips
With a range of taxes set to rise sharply, the rush is on: Private banks, family offices, and wealth managers are tapping the smartest tax minds they can find to come up with new tax-efficient products and portfolios.
WSJ.com - May 17, 2013
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Tax Court Slaps Down IRAs Holding 'Alternative Assets'
A U.S. Tax Court decision offers a cautionary tale for people who want to invest individual retirement account funds in "alternative" assets, especially operating businesses.
WSJ.com - May 17, 2013
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How Will Gen X Retire?
Here's another reason why Generation X might resent baby boomers.Typical Generation Xers now in their late 30s to late 40s saw their net worth drop by a larger proportion than older Americans during the financial crisis and came out of it ...
WSJ.com - May 17, 2013
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A Nervy Approach to Retirement Saving; Forget your 401(k) plan. The big money today is building nest eggs on everything from show horses to rock bands.
RICK KAHLER can't explain the mysteries of string theory, speak Mandarin or quote long passages from the Odyssey, but after buying and selling hundreds of properties for 30 years, he has a virtual Ph.D. in real estate.
WSJ.com - May 17, 2013
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Phase II; Is the Road Trip Worth It? Fancy conferences that focus on retirement planning can help. One tip: Be selective.
IT HAPPENS EVERYDAY, actually about 10 times a day on average in this country alone: A professional society hosts a conference to bring doctors or lawyers or various executives together. It might be at a convention center or on a Boca Raton ...
MarketWatch - May 17, 2013
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When founder cash out, do workers lose? For employees, there are risks and rewards
Mandy Cabot wants to make sure the shoemaking business that she and her husband built over the past 20 years remains in good hands after they’re gone. The 58-year-old co-founder of Dansko, a West Grove, Pa., company with more than $150 ...
WSJ.com - May 12, 2013
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Mom and Money: 'Lessons I Wish She Had Taught Me'
Mother's Day celebrates all that our mothers have done for us. But…no one's perfect, right?One mistake moms (and—let's get real—dads, too) sometimes make is failing to teach their children how to be smart about money.
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - 12:34 AM ET-
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Annuities, Health Make Good Partnership
Fat, unhealthy smokers rarely get a good deal—except when it comes to annuities. Partnership Assurance, a new U.K. insurer that is seeking a value of more than £1 billion ($1.54 billion) when it lists on the London Stock Exchange next ...
MarketWatch - May 13, 2013
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Monday's Personal Finance Stories
Don’t miss these top stories:10 things cruise lines won’t tell you.America is high on sugar, down on Splenda.The news media is even worse than you think.
MarketWatch - May 13, 2013
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Rethink your bond strategy for retirement
MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGEBonds might not be the best investment, but the looming bond losses predicted by Fuss, Buffett and others might be a long way off. If that’s the case, what should those planning for or living in retirement do with the ...
WSJ.com - May 11, 2013
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When It's Time to Huddle
People are calling "family meetings" nowadays not only to deal with their parents' health issues but increasingly to sort out their finances as well.
MarketWatch - May 12, 2013
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Rethink your bond strategy for retirement
MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGEBonds might not be the best investment, but the looming bond losses predicted by Fuss, Buffett and others might be a long way off. If that’s the case, what should those planning for or living in retirement do with the ...
WSJ.com - May 12, 2013
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Lifelines for Investors on Their Own
A reader in Minneapolis needs "direction" with her three pots of money—a regular individual retirement account, a Roth IRA and a taxable account, totaling $725,000—but speaks for many investors when she writes:
MarketWatch - May 11, 2013
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Rethink your bond strategy for retirement
MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGEBonds might not be the best investment, but the looming bond losses predicted by Fuss, Buffett and others might be a long way off. If that’s the case, what should those planning for or living in retirement do with the ...
WSJ.com - May 11, 2013
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Retiring Your Tax Bill
It's getting trickier to put up your feet and sidestep taxes at the same time.Investors getting ready to retire have long looked at state and local tax laws in deciding where to settle when their working days are over, alongside sunny ...
WSJ.com - May 8, 2013
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Funds See Opportunity in Real Estate
A glitzy Manhattan real-estate crowd gathered in March to join Barry Sternlicht, chief executive of Starwood Capital Group, at a party celebrating the launch of condo sales at the Baccarat Hotel & Residences, a new development across ...
WSJ.com - Mar 3, 2013
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Say Goodbye to the 4% Rule; If the conventional wisdom no longer holds about spending in retirement, what are the alternatives? Here are three of them.
Can your nest egg last your whole lifetime? It's getting tougher to tell.Conventional wisdom says you can take 4% from your savings the first year of retirement, and then that amount plus more to account for inflation each year, without ...
WSJ.com - May 10, 2013
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Advisers Embrace Alternative Pension Plan
As most U.S. businesses keep shifting the bulk of retirement funding and planning to their employees, some advisers are embracing an alternative approach that puts investment decisions squarely on the back of employers.
MarketWatch - May 10, 2013
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What retirees really want: Peace of mind; Being health, wealthy and wise takes a lot of planning
Some call it contingency planning while others refer to it as plain old risk management. But no matter what you call it, you’ll need to start thinking about ‘it’ if you’re saving for or living in retirement.
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - May 13, 2013-
This week’s Mutual Funds and ETF stories
Don’t miss these top money and investing features:Sell in May, but when should you buy?Why stocks risk a 10% tumbleForget Buffett; this investor made me rich for life
WSJ.com - May 9, 2013
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The Experts: Should You Keep Cash in Your Portfolio?
Besides keeping some in an emergency fund, should the average investor have an allocation to cash and cash equivalents in an investment portfolio? The Wall Street Journal put this question to The Experts, an exclusive group of industry and ...
WSJ.com - May 9, 2013
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J.P. Morgan Seeks More Risk Savvy
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is looking for more directors who can serve on the board's risk committee, said people close to the company, amid calls from some investors for corporate-governance changes at the largest U.S. bank.
WSJ.com - May 2, 2013
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Portfolio Strategy; Keep Your Portfolio Simple; Four ways to declutter your investments—while staying diversified
When it comes to your portfolio and investing practices, more isn't always better.With well over 8,000 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, as well as a variety of complicated trading strategies, from which to choose—not to mention the ...
WSJ.com - May 5, 2013
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Insurers to Annuity Owners: We Don't Want More Money; In an effort to reduce risk, companies restrict additional funds for some of their most-generous products
It isn't often a business says, "Thanks, but no thanks," when you try to invest more money with it.But that is what a growing number of life insurers are saying to people who, years back, bought the retirement-income product known as a ...
WSJ.com - May 5, 2013
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A New Era for Do-It-Yourself Investing; Many investors want to call the shots—while turning to tools and people for help as needed
Do-it-yourself investing is gaining newfound popularity—but with a twist.Instead of going it entirely on their own, more investors are pursuing a kind of modified DIY approach, tapping an array of increasingly sophisticated online tools and ...
WSJ.com - May 5, 2013
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'Boring' Blue Chips Lead Record-Setting Market Runup
Boring bulls are powering the market higher.That the stock market has climbed as much as it has this year surprises many analysts. Perhaps the biggest shocker: the kinds of companies leading the charge.
WSJ.com - May 6, 2013
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Mixing It Up; Sell Some Stock If Retirement Is Near; With stock indexes strong, investors should sell some winners to build cash, this adviser says
Take some money off the table. That's the recommendation of Kent Kramer, an adviser in Des Moines, Iowa, who says that with stock indexes at record levels, pre-retirees should consider selling some shares and setting aside the proceeds.
MarketWatch - May 6, 2013
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Monday's Personal Finance Stories
Don’t miss these top stories:10 things summer camps won’t say.Airlines want you off Expedia, Orbitz.Lance Armstrong’s mutual-fund career is over.
WSJ.com - Apr 7, 2013
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The Experts: What Lessons Can Investors Learn From Warren Buffett?
What lessons can investors learn from Warren Buffett's investment strategy and history? The Wall Street Journal put this question to The Experts, an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders who engage in in-depth online discussions ...
WSJ.com - May 5, 2013
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Reverse-Mortgage Defaults Increasing
Growing numbers of older borrowers with reverse mortgages are delinquent on these loans. But a little-known federal guideline can help steer such individuals out of financial trouble.
WSJ.com - May 5, 2013
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Engineering Grads Get Top Pay
While college majors may seem irrelevant to employers who mainly want to hire young people who can think critically and communicate well, that doesn't mean all majors are created equal.
Latest Retirement Planning News
MarketWatch - May 9, 2013-
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Portugal Unveils Budget Cuts
LISBON—Portugal's prime minister laid out a three-year plan Friday to reduce the country's budget deficit that would shrink the number of public employees, add more working hours and raise the retirement age by a year, to 66.
MarketWatch - May 3, 2013
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Could this plan replace the 401(k)? More employers cut costs with ‘cash balance’ pensions
The retirement world is largely focused on 401(k) and traditional defined benefit plans. But investors and financial advisers alike should be paying closer attention to something called a cash balance pension plan. Cash balance plans are ...
WSJ.com - May 2, 2013
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Illinois House Backs Overhaul of State Pensions
The Illinois House of Representatives passed a pension-overhaul plan Thursday that would cut retiree benefits and increase required employee contributions, in the biggest move yet toward addressing the nation's worst state-pension crisis.
MarketWatch - May 1, 2013
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Why you should fill an ‘emergency bucket’; Keeping unexpected expenses from gutting your savings
Many retirees think long and hard about their bucket lists. But financial advisers say they should give equal attention to the different buckets of their retirement portfolios—a strategy that can help if unexpected medical costs arise.
MarketWatch - Apr 30, 2013
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Tuesday's Personal Finance Stories
Don’t miss these top stories:10 things vitamin makers won’t say.Should you buy Apple bonds?5 things you can’t do if you’re gay.Retire Here, Not There: Kansas.
WSJ.com - Apr 19, 2013
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They're Changing Our Annuity!
Theywere always thought of as rock-solid investments. But it turns out that variable annuities can be a little too variable.In the past decade, Americans heading into retirement have racked up a total of $661 billion in an estimated six ...
WSJ.com - Apr 19, 2013
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The Case for Muni Bonds
Do municipal-bond funds make sense in retirement accounts?Most retirement savings are sheltered in individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred vehicles, so many people don't think of munis when they think of saving for ...
WSJ.com - Apr 24, 2013
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The Experts: The Best Financial Advice for Young People Starting Out
What's the best financial advice for young people just starting to make money? The Wall Street Journal put this question to The Experts, an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders who engage in in-depth online discussions of topics ...
WSJ.com - Apr 30, 2013
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A Couple Compromises on Retirement Goals
The American couple was deadlocked over when to move home from Saudi Arabia. The husband felt strongly about staying longer to boost their retirement nest egg, but the wife was unhappy and ready to move home as soon as possible.
MarketWatch - Apr 30, 2013
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Backdoor Roth IRA conversion: Tax-free?
When you make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA and you immediately convert it to a Roth IRA, 100% of the conversion is nontaxable, right? Not necessarily.
MarketWatch - Apr 30, 2013
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Annuityville horror stories
Even novelist Stephen King would be horrified by some of scary annuity events that unfortunately happen every day.Annuities can be great transfer of risk strategies when properly positioned in a portfolio and there are many good agents out ...
WSJ.com - Apr 29, 2013
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Kodak Gives Assets to U.K. Retirees
Photography icon Eastman Kodak Co. laid plans to emerge from a year-plus stretch in bankruptcy court with a deal that turns over two businesses it was trying to shed to unusual recipients: its U.K. retirees.
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - May 3, 2013-
'Don't Just Spend It'—Smart Moves for Your Tax Refund
It's that time of year again. Many taxpayers who actually managed to get their tax returns in before last week's April 15 deadline, rather than filing for a six-month extension, are looking forward to their refunds.
WSJ.com - Apr 28, 2013
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Retirement Plans Need Dusting, Too
It's the perfect time to do some spring cleaning—of your retirement plan.As with other dreary tasks, like organizing the garage or putting the winter clothes in the attic, it's easy to postpone taking a close look at your nest egg and ...
WSJ.com - Apr 27, 2013
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Are You Ready for the New Investment Tax?
It's time to grapple with the new 3.8% tax on investment income.The ordeal of 2012 taxes is barely over. But it isn't too early to understand and cushion the blow of the investment-income levy, which Congress passed in 2010 to help fund the ...
WSJ.com - Apr 26, 2013
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Estate Planning: New Hazards
You thought your estate plans were finally set? Not so fast.It turns out the "permanent" $5 million estate-tax exemption enacted earlier this year could change after all, sending families back to the drawing board to sort out their ...
MarketWatch - Apr 26, 2013
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Your biggest assets are Social Security, Medicare; Commentary: Elites want to cut them because they don’t need them
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The powerful and wealthy elites who run this country are shocked that not everyone is jumping on their bandwagon to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.
WSJ.com - Feb 28, 2013
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The Experts: Is Investing in Collectibles a Recipe for Disaster?
Are collectible objects a bad investment? The Wall Street Journal put this question to The Experts, an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders who engage in in-depth online discussions of topics from the print Report. This question ...
WSJ.com - Apr 23, 2013
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'Target' Funds Vulnerable to Rate Rise
Millions of workers saving for retirement risk losing part of their nest eggs if interest rates jump.The cause for concern: target-date mutual funds, designed for investors who lack the time or expertise to balance their investment ...
WSJ.com - Apr 24, 2013
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Portugal Tries to Cut Costs With Public-Sector 'Rethink'
LISBON—A recent court decision blocking cuts in wages and pensions for public employees in Portugal is forcing the government of one of Europe's most fragile economies to move beyond palliative measures and try to overhaul the underlying ...
MarketWatch - Apr 24, 2013
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Best financial decision? Paying off mortgage; People also valued starting to save early
Quick, what’s the best money move you ever made?For 40% of people aged 55 and older, it was paying off their mortgage, according to a Harris Interactive survey of about 1,540 people for Northwestern Mutual, an insurance and ...
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013
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RICH Hilow; Advising the Young: A Win/Win
Many financial advisers don't go out of their way to work with young investors. Young people typically don't have $250,000, much less a million dollars, lying around waiting to be invested, so some advisers don't think it's worth their ...
WSJ.com - Feb 28, 2013
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The Experts: How Should Couples Avoid Fights About Money?
What steps can couples take to make sure they minimize conflicts over finances? The Wall Street Journal put this question to The Experts, an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders who engage in in-depth online discussions related ...
MarketWatch - Apr 22, 2013
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Never throw away your tax returns; Why you may need those old 1040s someday
“Man forced to put off retirement for two years due to lost tax records.” Could that happen to you? Yes, it could. Or worse.One of the most frequent questions that comes to TaxMama is — Can I throw out my tax records? Really, how long must ...
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013-
We Should Encourage Saving, Not Add More Taxes on It
Your editorial "Now He's After Your 401(k)" (April 12) correctly criticizes the impact of President Obama's proposed limit on the amount that individuals can save in tax-sheltered defined-contribution plans, defined-benefit plans and IRAs. ...
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013
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Meet Your Adviser. Just Not in Person. Investors increasingly turn to advisory services provided by online trading models
NEW YORK—More investors are taking the do-it-yourself route.It's well known that registered investment advisers are grabbing market share from traditional brokerage firms. But another trend appears to be encroaching on the business of the ...
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013
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The Game Plan; After a Costly Year, It's Time to Get Serious About Saving
Last year was an expensive one for Clarissa Hitchon and Sean White.The couple made a cross-country move, got married and bought their first home, all in a matter of months. Now Ms. Hitchon, 32, is focused on rebuilding their savings ...
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013
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Refiguring Inflation Will Hit Retirees' Income
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama proposed to tweak the formula for calculating the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security recipients.
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013
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Help for Seniors Going Into Business
As working during retirement years has become commonplace, so has the desire among older Americans to strike out on their own and start a business for themselves.
WSJ.com - Apr 19, 2013
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Buying Stock From the Boss
Employee stock-purchase plans are coming back in style. With some careful planning, they could help fatten your bank account.Such plans allow employees to buy their company's stock at a discount of 5% to 15% off the market price on a ...
WSJ.com - Apr 13, 2013
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Union-Employer Proposal Would Hit Some Retirees
A coalition of unions and employers is proposing changes to the federal law that governs the pension plans of about 10 million people, including reducing benefits paid to retirees, the first time in four decades that such cuts would be ...
WSJ.com - Apr 16, 2013
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When Rolling Over, Make Sure You Don't Get Squished by Costs
When it comes to rolling over retirement accounts, a new government report suggests that job switchers are ignoring what may be their best option: pouring savings into a new employer's 401(k).
WSJ.com - Apr 17, 2013
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Founders Cash Out, but Do Workers Gain? U.S. Employee-Owned Firms Top 10,000, With More Expected as Owners Retire; Critics Point to Potential Drawbacks
Mandy Cabot wants to make sure the shoemaking business that she and her husband built over the past 20 years remains in good hands after they're gone. The 58-year-old co-founder of Dansko, a West Grove, Pa., company with more than $150 ...
MarketWatch - Apr 19, 2013
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Tax benefits of retirement savings in jeopardy; Commentary: Decreasing savings could endanger U.S. economy
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In an effort to slow and reverse our spiraling national deficit and debt, lawmakers will likely put all tax expenditures (tax code spending via exemptions, deductions, or credits to select groups or specific ...
WSJ.com - Apr 14, 2013
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Big 401(k) Mistakes … and How You Can Avoid Them
What you don't know about your 401(k) could hurt you.Millions of Americans are counting on their 401(k) to fund their golden years. But financial advisers say some people may be making mistakes with their 401(k)s that could hurt them now ...
WSJ.com - Mar 25, 2013
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Kicked Out of Your 401(k)? Don't Let the Cash Sit
It is no secret that companies fired millions of workers during the past recession. But lately, a number of firms are handing out another kind of pink slip: booting former employees from 401(k) plans.
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - Apr 21, 2013-
Pilot’s nest egg crashed after he gave up control; Commentary: Indictment claims investment firm was Ponzi scheme
DENVER (MarketWatch) — If there’s one thing Bill Marvel knows after 40 years of flying light aircraft, it is this: Never leave the controls of your plane to someone else.
WSJ.com - Apr 18, 2013
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Randi Weingarten's Pension Veto; The teachers union chief tries to blackball hedge funds that support school reform.
Public pension funds are frantically chasing higher yields to reduce their roughly $3 trillion in unfunded liabilities. But don't tell that to Randi Weingarten, the teachers union el supremo, who is trying to strong-arm pension trustees not ...
MarketWatch - Apr 18, 2013
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Thursday's Personal Finance Stories
Don’t miss these top stories:Scotch whisky Winnie the Pooh would love.Buy stocks when men buy socks?Investing’s new golden rule.Singles swing into retirement with little savings.
WSJ.com - Apr 18, 2013
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It's Hard to Predict the Future, but the Actuaries Must
Andy Kessler's "The Pension Rate-of-Return Fantasy" (op-ed, April 10) is wrong. With respect to the selection of an investment return assumption, he states: "The right [return] number is probably 3%." How can a market cognoscente come up ...
MarketWatch - Apr 18, 2013
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Singles swing into retirement with little savings; Study: Couples are more successful in saving
If you think it’s hard saving for retirement as a couple, trying doing it as a single. According to a study—described by one expert as the most intriguing of 2012—the amount of money singles in their late 60s have saved up for retirement is ...
WSJ.com - Apr 18, 2013
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Managers of Hedge Funds Hit by Union
The nation's second-largest union for teachers said some prominent managers of hedge funds get investments from public pensions while supporting groups that attack traditional pensions.
WSJ.com - Mar 24, 2013
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Parent Trap: What to Know Before Taking a College Loan
Diana Jackson had no student debt when she got her Bachelor's degree from Miami University in Ohio in 1982. But when her daughter graduated from the school in 2011, Ms. Jackson was stuck with about $33,000 in parent loans.
MarketWatch - Apr 17, 2013
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Why your boss wants you to retire on time; Employers face big health bills for an aging workforce
More boomers want—or need—to stay in the workplace longer. But staying on the job as you approach retirement age tends to makes you more expensive to an employer, because of your health-care costs. And that’s why workers now face a growing ...
WSJ.com - Mar 17, 2013
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Rules for the 'Family Maximum'; Social Security benefits, contributions to IRAs and funding a college education
My question has to do with the maximum amount that a couple can receive if both are entitled to Social Security benefits based on their individual work records. When you receive a Social Security statement, there is a line that reads, ...
WSJ.com - Mar 17, 2013
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Not Your Normal Nest Egg; 'Collective trusts' are unfamiliar, opaque—and worth a second look
An investment product with an unfamiliar name, no ticker symbol and hard-to-find performance data isn't likely to be the most popular option in a 401(k) retirement-savings plan.
WSJ.com - Apr 7, 2013
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Throw Out the 4% Rule for Retirement? Readers Have Some Questions.
An article in the March Investing in Funds & ETFs report noted that some retirement-income experts are throwing out the so-called 4% rule—the conventional wisdom that you can take 4% from your savings the first year of retirement, and ...
WSJ.com - Apr 12, 2013
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Now He's After Your 401(k); The White House pulls a switcheroo on retirement savings accounts.
How many times have you read financial-advice stories lecturing you to max-out on your IRA, save as much as you can in your 401(k), and even pay taxes now to change your regular IRA into a Roth IRA that will be tax-free until you die?
Latest Retirement Planning News
MarketWatch - Apr 19, 2013-
Retirement Is No Holiday From Debt
Gone are the days when most Americans went into retirement with little credit-card debt and without a mortgage. Now, for a growing number of seniors, high levels of debt are threatening their retirement dreams.
WSJ.com - Mar 28, 2013
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A New Senior Moment; Zumba classes, sushi chefs and kilns in the crafting room: the newest generation of 55-plus communities caters to active—and demanding—retirees.
At Vivante on the Coast, a $62 million retirement community under construction in Newport Beach, Calif., renters will be able to relax in a hydromassage room or take a dip in the indoor saltwater pool. They'll watch movies in a private ...
WSJ.com - Apr 5, 2013
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The Case for Spending It; After All, There's More to Life Than Amassing Assets
Many investors worry about running out of money in retirement. Maybe their focus should be on making the most of their later years instead.With the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index hitting new ...
WSJ.com - Apr 5, 2013
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Investment Strategy; A 401(k) Defense Against Rising Rates; 'Stable value' accounts are likely to fare better than bond funds when interest rates head up again
They're as boring as they sound. They're more complex than they seem. But stable-value accounts can be a smart option for the most conservative slice of a 401(k) portfolio, especially in the current interest-rate environment.
WSJ.com - Apr 14, 2013
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Will the Government Shrink Your IRA?
As the April 15 filing deadline looms, it looks like some tax-protected retirement-savings vehicles might not be so protected after all.President Barack Obama's budget for fiscal year 2014, released Wednesday, is loaded with an unusually ...
MarketWatch - Apr 14, 2013
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8 tips to trim your retirement tax bill
MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGESaving money for retirement is difficult enough. Don’t undermine your hard work by paying a steeper-than-necessary tax bill. The right long-term decisions about IRAs, Roth IRAs, taxable savings accounts and asset ...
WSJ.com - Apr 13, 2013
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Strong Gains, But...
The first quarter of 2013 was another strong period for the stock market, with the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index returning 10.6% (including dividends). That boosted the three-year track records of target-date funds for retirement. ...
WSJ.com - Apr 14, 2013
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Limited Relief in Foreclosure Pact
The vast majority of borrowers being compensated for mortgage-related abuses will get $1,000 or less apiece.About four million borrowers will share $3.6 billion in cash as part of a settlement between federal regulators and banks accused of ...
MarketWatch - Apr 12, 2013
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8 tips to trim your retirement tax bill; Long-term tax strategies that can preserve your nest egg
Saving money for retirement is difficult enough. Don’t undermine your hard work by paying a steeper-than-necessary tax bill.Planning for taxes is complicated, of course, and will vary depending on your situation. Consulting an expert makes ...
WSJ.com - Apr 12, 2013
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San Jose's Wellness Incentive
Staying healthy pays, and quite well if you're a government employee in San Jose, Calif. Workers there can cash out banked sick leave upon retirement, a benefit which cost the city about $10 million last year. Some workers have drawn over ...
WSJ.com - Apr 10, 2013
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Slinging Mud at Ashley Judd; A leftist magazine exposes a Hollywood actress as troubled and strange.
Ashley Judd is a Hollywood actress who thought about, and decided against, running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is up for a sixth term next year. That's about all we knew about her until ...
MarketWatch - Apr 11, 2013
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Raiding your retirement to pay for college; Find ways to help kids without risking your safety net
Conventional wisdom suggests, as do prudent advisers, that you should never, ever raid your retirement accounts to pay for your children’s or grandchildren’s college costs.
Latest Retirement Planning News
WSJ.com - Mar 24, 2013-
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Workers Stuck in Disability Stunt Economic Recovery
The unexpectedly large number of American workers who piled into the Social Security Administration's disability program during the recession and its aftermath threatens to cost the economy tens of billions a year in lost wages and ...
WSJ.com - Apr 10, 2013
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Speaking Up to Prevent a Client's Mistake
The accomplished professor in her late 60s was in many ways the embodiment of financial responsibility.While living a frugal lifestyle, she saved a large portion of her income and held a workplace retirement plan as well as an IRA with ...
MarketWatch - Apr 10, 2013
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Retiree health benefits: Facing extinction? Inflation, reforms lead more firms to shed retiree plans
Getting health-care benefits from your employer in retirement? Count yourself lucky, then go and find some wood to knock. Those benefits have begun to undergo big changes, and are likely to change even more in the near future.
WSJ.com - Apr 9, 2013
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Andy Kessler: The Pension Rate-of-Return Fantasy; Counting on 7.5% when Treasury bonds are paying 1.74%? That's going to cost taxpayers billions.
It has been said that an actuary is someone who really wanted to be an accountant but didn't have the personality for it. See who's laughing now. Things are starting to get very interesting, actuarially-speaking.
