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Market Turmoil To Stall Retirement

Aug 31

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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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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

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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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Call off the intergenerational wars

Aug 25

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Blaming baby boomers for our economic woes diverts attention from the gross inequalities that have plagued us for decades

These days, intergenerational war seems to be all the rage. “It’s all the fault of the baby boomers” is the new conservative rallying cry. David Willetts, in his book The Pinch, argues that the baby boomers took the money and ran, leaving the younger generation with nothing. Other new books try a similar pitch, such as Ed Howker and Shiv Malik’s Jilted Generation and Francis Beckett’s What Did The Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us? Will Hutton seems to agree.

Not that the cry is new. In France, Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidency by blaming our troubled times on the lax moral standards and antipatriotic slogans of “les soixante huitards”. Before the German elections in 2008, the finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, railed against raising Keynesian-style public borrowing on the grounds that it would saddle future generations with a mountain of debt for which they would never forgive us, a cry parroted only last June by Nick Clegg.
guardian.co.uk

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Baby Boomer Bankruptcies on the Rise

Aug 24

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A growing number of baby boomers are going bust.

A newly released study found that 42% of all individuals filing for bankruptcy were between the ages of 45 and 64 in 2007 and that older Americas are filing for protection from creditors at a much faster rate than younger adults.

“The baby boomers are disproportionately represented in bankruptcy proceedings,” wrote John Golmant and James Woods, who compiled the study that appears in the September issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s ABI Journal. Golmant is a statistician and Woods is a social science analyst, both with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington.

Bankruptcy filings are increasing fastest among individuals between the ages of 55 and 64, the study found. From 2002 to 2007, the percentage of filers in that category grew 65%.
wsj.com

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401k Loans and Withdrawals Rise

Aug 23

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There’s a troubling new sign of just how far Americans are going to simply make ends meet. A record number of people are making what are called “hardship” withdrawals from their 401ks. It’s risky because we’re talking about tapping into funds that pay for our retirement years.

New data from the nation’s largest retirement savings company shows nearly one in four workers has taken out a loan against their 401k plan… a ten year high. Beth McHugh, Fidelity Investments VP, says, “Individuals are finding in these tough economic times that they need to access their savings and for many individuals their primary savings vehicle is their retirement savings plan.”
ktul.com

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Many businesses for sale as baby boomers begin to retire

Aug 20

Posted by Boomer in Economy | No Comments

MONCTON – When it comes to buying and selling small- and medium-sized companies, David Barnett is the guy brokering deals.

And the business intermediary says his marketplace is on the verge of a boom.

“The next decade is going to be huge for this industry,” Barnett says in an interview.

Baby boomers who own laundromats, pubs, daycares and the like have begun looking to retire and sell.

Barnett works to connect sellers of companies with buyers hunting for an easy investment through a Moncton franchise that was set up in 2007. It’s part of Sunbelt Network, a business brokerage firm with about 250 offices worldwide and the Hub City operation being the only in New Brunswick.

To date, Barnett and his colleagues have helped 15 local business owners ink deals with buyers.

Right now, he has a roster of more than 300 people interested in taking over a company and his list of business owners trying to get out is at 22.

Pretty soon, Barnett expects sellers to outnumber buyers.
canadaeast.com

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Late life plans going bust

Aug 12

Posted by Boomer in Economy, Retirement | No Comments

Retirement plans change as job market gets tighter

BY ADAM LOWENSTEIN
and CHRISTINE DUGAS

Baby Boomers approaching retirement age might be in for a rude awakening.

Many want to keep working, knowing that they likely will live well into their 80s and 90s, stay healthier than previous generations and need more money to keep paying the bills.

However, for Boomers — those 79 million Americans born from 1946 through 1964 — “the new retirement reality may be a messy proposition,” according to Alicia Munnell, the director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Jobs are scarce, and many employers aren’t willing to hire older workers, or if they do are unwilling to tap into the experience — in work and life — boomers often bring to the job.
floridatoday.com

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Boomers wanting to work past retirement age find limited options

Aug 10

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By Christine Dugas, USA TODAY

Baby Boomers approaching retirement age are in for a rude awakening.
Many want to keep working, knowing that they likely will live well into their 80s and 90s, stay healthier than previous generations and need more cash to keep paying the bills.

However, for Boomers — those 79 million Americans born from 1946 through 1964 — “the new retirement reality may be a messy proposition,” says Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Jobs are scarce and many employers aren’t willing to hire older workers. Boomers who do land jobs often must settle for ones that are less fulfilling than desired.
usatoday.com

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