http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com en-us http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com N/A financiallearningnetwork@gmail.com Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:54:16 MST 20 http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/119/1/Social-Security-Benefits-Will-Not-Pay-All-The-Bills- by G. White There are few times in life worth looking forward to that are better than retirement, unless it is retiring knowing you will have financial security for you and your family. Most people will spend years working, knowing retirement is going to sneak up on them, and unfortunately, few will begin planning soon enough. When talking to financial planners they will tell you that it is never too soon to begin planning for your financial future, but at some point, it will be too late. Features Editor Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/110/1/Are-You-Building-Enough-Wealth-to-Support-Yourself-in-Retirement%3F (NewsUSA) - The 21st century offers new opportunities and compelling reasons for workers to achieve the American dream of financial independence in retirement. Fortunately, making that dream a reality got easier when President George W. Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law. This has enhanced the ability of millions of Americans to build wealth through retirement savings programs. Elaine Chao Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/86/1/Pursuing-Universal-Retirement-Security-Through-Automatic-IRAs-%28Draft%29 by David C. John and J. Mark Iwry This paper proposes an ambitious but practical set of retirement savings initiatives to expand dramatically retirement savings in the United States-especially to those not currently offered an employer-provided retirement plan.** The essential strategy is to make saving more automatic-and hence easier, more convenient, and more likely to occur.  Making saving easier by making it automatic has been shown to be remarkably effective at boosting participation in 401(k) plans, but roughly half of U.S. workers are not offered a 401(k) or any other type of employer-sponsored plan. Among the 153 million working Americans in 2004, over 71 million worked for an employer that did not sponsor a retirement plan of any kind, and another 17 million did not participate in their employer's plan.[2] This paper explores a new and, we believe, promising approach to expanding the benefits of automatic saving to a wider array of the population: the "automatic IRA."     David John Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/85/1/The-Other-71-million by David C. John and J. Mark Iwry Retirement insecurity looms for millions of American workers. For most of us, Social Security will not be enough. A comfortable retirement, according to most investment professionals, requires an annual income of about 70 percent of pre-retirement earnings -- far more than Social Security provides for most workers.Yet our nation's personal savings rate -- saving as a percentage of income -- has dropped below zero, and traditional employer-sponsored defined benefit pensions, which have served workers so well for decades, are rapidly eroding. David John Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/104/1/Congress-Should-Add-Auto-Enrollment-to-the-Thrift-Savings-Plan But Resist Interfering in Its Investment Choices Congress will improve the retirement security of millions of federal workers if it agrees to add auto-enrollment to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a part of the federal government's employee retirement system. Under auto-enrollment, a worker participates in TSP unless he or she opts out of it. On June 19, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which manages TSP and has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that TSP operates solely for the benefit of federal workers, voted to ask Congress for the authority to automatically enroll new and returning workers into TSP. The recommendation also has the support of TSP's Employee Thrift Advisory Council. Establishing auto-enrollment would especially help military personnel, whose participation rate in TSP is well below that of civilian employees. David John Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/87/1/Are-Pensions-the-Next-Fiscal-Crisis%3F The retirement security of millions of workers who are covered by defined benefit pension plans is at risk because many of those plans do not have enough money to pay all of the benefits they have promised. While the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) has had to take over underfunded pension plans from two airlines and most of the steel industry, worse is yet to come. Other airlines are already in trouble, and the auto industry is also feeling the crush of massive pension obligations. The end result may be a massive bailout of PBGC that costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. To avoid this, Congress needs to act quickly. It should start by considering the Administration's proposal on defined benefit pension reform. David John Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/44/1/401%28k%29-Participants-Turn-to-Pros-For-Help-Managing-Their-Money (NewsUSA) - You're a computer engineer, or a nurse, or a graphic designer. Just keeping current in your own specialty is an effort. So what happens to your 401(k) retirement plan while you're off doing what you do? Does it just languish, forgotten, in some dusty corner of your mind? Are you, among millions of others, crossing your fingers and hoping your portfolio will provide? Features Editor Sat, 19 Aug 2006 00:00:00 MDT http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/13/1/Now-May-Be-the-Time-To-Dive-Into-Dividends (NUI) - Soaring technology stocks led the longest bull market in history during the 1990s, driving investors to shun stocks of dividend-paying firms. Features Editor Wed, 18 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST http://www.financiallearningnetwork.com/articles/12/1/Roll-Over-Your-IRA-for-a-More-Secure-Future (NUI) - The convenience of 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans have turned many Americans into investors. That's good news, since it is becoming evident that fewer retirees in the future will have substantial pensions and more will have to rely on their own savings to cover their needs. Features Editor Sun, 11 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST