BOOMER UPDATE

News and Resources for Boomers

Parents Dip Into Retirement Funds To Pay For College

Sep 2

Posted by Boomer in Retirement | No Comments


Parents typically use their current income and college savings accounts to pay for their children’s college costs. But families who haven’t saved enough are increasingly cracking open their nest eggs to help pay tuition bills.

Some 6 percent of parents withdrew money from a 401(k) or IRA to help cover college costs in 2010, up from 3 percent in 2009, according to a Sallie Mae and Gallup survey of 801 college students age 18 to 24 and 823 parents of college students. The average amount withdrawn from retirement accounts jumped from $5,318 in 2009 to $8,554 this year.

IRAs, but not 401(k) plans, can be used to pay for higher education expenses including tuition, fees, and books without having to pay the usual 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.
usnews.com

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France firm on raising retirement despite protests

Sep 2

Posted by Boomer in Retirement | No Comments

(AP)

PARIS — Massive street protests planned for next week won’t dent the French government’s resolve to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, the labor minister said Thursday.

Unions plan demonstrations and strikes Tuesday and have urged private and public sector employees, the jobless, young people and retirees to join.

The government expects a strong turnout and respects the people’s right to take to the streets, Labor Minister Eric Woerth said.
hostednews/ap

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Retiree gives out euro coins to celebrate retirement

Sep 1

Posted by Boomer in Retirement | No Comments


(AFP)

BERLIN — A German man celebrated his first day of retirement by handing out one-euro coins to passers-by in the quiet town of Aschaffenburg, near Frankfurt, police said Wednesday.

Dressed in a suit, the man wore a sign around his neck that read: “I am not unemployed, nor homeless. I am married. I am doing fine. That’s why I wish to offer you an euro.”
hostednews/afp

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When retirement isn’t voluntary

Sep 1

Posted by Boomer in Retirement | No Comments


By Linda Stern
WASHINGTON

(Reuters) – The conventional wisdom offered to all pre-retirees these days is: Wait! Work as long as possible, defer your Social Security benefits (so they’ll grow) and your precious 401(k) withdrawals.

But that’s not always possible, is it? In fact, many people get involuntarily retired before they are ready, especially in a recession. When older folks get laid off, it can be harder for them to find another job, the illegality of age discrimination notwithstanding.

The average duration of unemployment is 34.2 weeks, according to the Labor Department. But workers over 55 are currently out of work for an average of 41 weeks. And while the unemployment rate for those over 55 is, at 6.9 percent, lower than the 9.5 percent overall unemployment rate, that’s not because older workers are so employable. It’s because they give up. The AARP says 97 percent of older workers who are unemployed aren’t even looking for a new job.
reuters.com

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Market Turmoil To Stall Retirement

Aug 31

Posted by Boomer in Economy, Retirement | No Comments

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The latest quarterly retirement survey from Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) shows more than half of Americans approaching retirement age expecting to retire debt-free and nearly 90% plan to keep working.

The tally, done by Kelton Research in July, polled people ages 50 to 60. It comes amid a rollicking several years in the markets and economy at large, with many American fearing they would outlive savings and need to work years later than planned to afford retirement.

But the latest survey showed 54% not expecting to delay their planned retirement despite the economy, while 38% said they expected to retire later than anticipated.
wsj.com

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Baby Boomers Create Health Care Fear in Canada

Aug 31

Posted by Boomer in Health | No Comments

Marcus Hondro

With legions of silver-haired baby boomers moving into their golden years the possible strain on the health care system has been worrying old and young Canadians alike. That’s according to a Canadian Medical Association survey released Monday, Aug. 30, 2010.

The survey, taken in June, found that 80% of Canadians worry that the country’s health care system will have problems dealing with the strain of so many elderly people. It’s being called the ‘silver tsunami’ and it’s an issue for the U.S. and other countries, too, as the jump in the birth rate in the west after W.W. 2 created extra millions of citizens that were soon being called baby boomers.
suite101.com

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Three Alternatives to Raiding Your 401(k)

Aug 30

Posted by Boomer in Economy, Retirement | No Comments

Edited By NIKKI WALLER

Americans are pulling money out of retirement accounts early.

During the second quarter, 62,000 of the 11 million workers using 401(k) plans provided through Fidelity Investments began the process of taking out a hardship withdrawal, up from 45,000 during the first quarter, according to a recent study from the retirement-plan provider.

The most common reasons cited: The money was needed to stave off an eviction or foreclosure, to pay college tuition or to buy a home.

Financial advisers say they are noticing a similar trend in individual retirement accounts, and they recommend that investors weigh a few alternatives before raiding their retirement vehicles.
online.wsj.com

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More savers taking loans, withdrawals from 401(k)s

Aug 30

Posted by Boomer in Economy | No Comments

By Catherine Carlock, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO — Even as retirement savers recoup some investment losses from a year ago, financial struggles are forcing more of them to take out loans and hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) plans, according to data from Fidelity Investments.

In the second quarter, 11.1 percent of 401(k) savers who actively participate in their plan took out loans, the highest level in 10 years, according to Fidelity’s study of 11 million participants in 17,000 workplace plans.

The last time the number approached that level was in the second quarter of 2004, when 10.7 percent of participants took loans, and the second quarter of 2009, when 9.2 percent did so.
post-gazette.com

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Yoga Shows Potential to Ward Off Certain Diseases

Aug 26

Posted by Boomer in Health | No Comments


By Rachael Rettner, LiveScience Staff Writer

Practicing yoga may do more than calm the mind – it may help protect against certain diseases, a new study suggests.

In the study, women who had practiced yoga regularly for at least two years were found to have lower levels of inflammation in their bodies than did women who only recently took up the activity.

Inflammation is an immune response and can be beneficial when your body is fighting off infection, but chronically high levels of inflammation are known to play a role in certain conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease and depression.

Inflammation is known to be boosted by stressful situations. But when yoga experts were exposed to stress (such as dipping their feet in ice water), they experienced less of an increase in their inflammatory response than yoga novices did.

“The study is the first one, I think, to really suggest how yoga could have some distinctive physical benefits in terms of the immune system,” said researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University. “It suggests that regular yoga practice is really good for you.” she told LiveScience.
livescience.com

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