While governments have seized retirement savings in other countries, few Americans believe they have reason to worry.
But the U.S. government has already taken steps toward taking control of the retirement assets of its citizens.
With $20 trillion in debt, the federal government will find it hard to resist the $12.68 trillion in 401(k) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) money set aside by American workers.
While governments have seized retirement savings in other countries, few Americans believe they have reason to worry.
But the U.S. government has already taken steps toward taking control of the retirement assets of its citizens.
With $20 trillion in debt, the federal government will find it hard to resist the $12.68 trillion in 401(k) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) money set aside by American workers.
Here's how they'll go about it...
While governments have seized retirement savings in other countries, few Americans believe they have reason to worry.
But the U.S. government has already taken steps toward taking control of the retirement assets of its citizens.
With $20 trillion in debt, the federal government will find it hard to resist the $12.68 trillion in 401(k) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) money set aside by American workers.
Here's how they'll go about it...
The most common retirement strategy advisors still give today is "buy a good index mutual fund and hold it forever." That aged approach has been around since I got my start in the markets in the mid-1980s.
Sure, buy and hold is the easiest strategy for a client to follow. After selecting a fund, there is nothing more to do.
That's why it's great for advisors and mutual funds. Keeping your money is their top priority because they get paid based on assets under management, not performance. Plus, redemptions cost funds money and time. For every "sale," they have to deal with paperwork and transaction costs when they sell shares to raise cash for the redemption.
According to the Federal Reserve, the average American has less than $60,000 saved in their retirement accounts.
With so many Americans ill-prepared for retirement, one of the most common questions we're asked at Money Morning is "What are the different retirement accounts?"
Here's everything you need to know now...
It's bad enough that freshly minted college graduates can't find jobs, but when that forces them back home to Mom and Dad, it can also have an impact on retirement planning.
What this means, Keith said, is that parents need to figure out a way to help out struggling offspring without completely derailing their retirement savings.
In this video, Keith explains why this is happening and how parents should handle it...
Retirement savings aren't delivering enough for us to live on after we stop working. It's not just that we aren't doing the right calculations; it's also that we aren't always using the right tools. 401(k)s and pension plans aren't cutting it anymore.
The traditional view of retirement savings was that you can figure out how much you’ll need with the "4% rule." But don't bother. There’s a new, better way to do things…
Americans' dreams of the "golden years" have increasingly become tarnished by harsh financial realities.
Indeed, a new survey of U.S. employees and retirees presents a disturbing portrait of the retirement crisis - among both current workers and retirees.
Longer life expectancies, stagnant wages and the uncertainty surrounding Social Security benefits have made it harder than ever to save enough to live comfortably in retirement.
The 23rd annual Retirement Confidence Survey by the non-profit, non-partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute - which polls both workers and retirees -found only 13% of American workers and 18% of retirees are "very confident" they have or will have enough money to retire comfortably. And 49% of workers said they are either "not at all" or "not too" confident they will have enough money to enjoy retirement.
"Not only do workers lack confidence about their ability to secure a financially secure retirement overall, but more and more, they lack confidence in their ability to pay for medical expenses and even basic expenses such as food, clothing and shelter," Jack VanDerhi, research director at EBRI, said in a statement.
These statistics show just how difficult it has become for Americans to save enough for retirement.
To continue reading, please click here...
Millions of Americans are going down a dangerous slope with their retirement savings.
More than one in four employees with 401(k) or other retirement accounts are tapping into those funds to pay mortgages, credit card debt and other bills, financial advisory firm HelloWallet said in a new report out this week.
Most of those dipping into their retirement funds before age 59½ are doing so because they are struggling to get by. American families average only $4,000 in savings accounts.
But dipping into retirement savings comes with a heavy price - and many of those who do so fail to realize the consequences, including IRS penalties and income tax on early withdrawals as well as any taxes on investment gains.
"Workers are now broadly voting with their wallets and demonstrating that they need retirement savings for non-retirement needs, in spite of the large, punitive penalties that are associated with most of that withdrawal activity," HelloWallet said in the report.
