Merrill, AIG. Lehman, money markets 'breaking the buck"....what a week!    I have a feeling Hank Paulson may be a household name by next week.  Lots of financial news and market volatility.

A recent Humberto Cruz article talks about retirement planning and annuities for women.

A 65-year-old woman can expect to live to 85, about three years longer than men, and she has a 23 percent chance of living beyond 95, based on current mortality tables.

“When a woman outlives her husband, her income decreases by 50 percent on average, yet expenses only decrease by 20 percent,” the Hartford/MIT AgeLab study said.

The second study, “Lifetime Income for Women: A Financial Economist’s Perspective,” was written by David Babbel, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, and co-sponsored by New York Life Insurance Co.

Babbel argues women should allocate substantially less money to stocks and stock mutual funds in retirement and more to immediate annuities that guarantee an income for life in return for a lump-sum premium.

“Annuities are even more important for women, because their risks are compounded by being faced with longer life expectancy as well as potentially outliving their husbands by six years or more (wives tend to be younger than their husbands),” Babbel said. He concludes income annuities from top-rated insurance companies can provide secure lifetime income for from 25 percent to 40 percent less money than it would take an individual investor.

One of our readers reminded us of the Roth IRA birthday this year.  Here's a quick recap of the Roth:

In 2008 you may contribute up to $5,000 if your age is below 50; and $6,000 if you are 50 or older.

There is no age limit to the Roth IRA.  You can contribute to the Roth IRA if you have earned income and, unlike the Traditional IRA after age 70 1/2.  Contributions from the Roth can come out at any time.  Those contributions could come in handy for an emergency or unexpected bill!

Your eligibility to contribute to the Roth IRA is also determined by your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and your tax filing status:

Here are the guidelines for 2008: 

Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions increased. For 2008, your Roth IRA contribution limit is reduced (phased out) in the following situations.

• Your filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) and your modified AGI is at least $159,000. You cannot make a Roth IRA contribution if your modified AGI is $169,000 or more.

• Your filing status is single, head of household, or married filing separately and you did not live with your spouse at any time in 2008 and your modified AGI is at least $101,000. You cannot make a Roth IRA contribution if your modified AGI is $116,000 or more.

Regulators on Friday shut down Silver State Bank, saying the Nevada bank failed because of losses on soured loans, mainly in commercial real estate and land development.

It was the 11th failure this year of a federally insured bank.

Nevada regulators closed Silver State and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the bank, based in Henderson, Nev. It had $2 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits as of June 30.

Andrew K. McCain, a son of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, sat on the boards of Silver State Bank and of its parent, Silver State Bancorp, starting in February but resigned in July citing "personal reasons," corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. Andrew McCain also was a member of the bank's audit committee, responsible for oversight of the company's accounting.

Yes or no..Do you have a pension?  Many of us don't.

Employers are freezing pension plans.  Only about 19% of employers offer them.  If you don't have guaranteed sources of income in retirement- save, save and then save some more.  Your 401k or 403b plan is your nest egg-make sure to max it out!  Add money to your IRA or Roth IRA each year!  Your 401k plan and IRA will be your retirement.

A new study indicates most of us will die broke.

Ernst & Young LLP recently completed research on financial security in retirement. The study examines the retirement savings and other resources for Americans with $50,000 to $100,000 of preretirement income. It considers investment returns, volatility, healthcare expenses, and takes into account the eventual death of a spouse. The study concludes that households with a defined-benefit pension as well as Social Security and savings are far less likely to outlive their savings than households without a defined-benefit pension.

A couple with preretirement earnings of $75,000 that will have a pension has a 31 percent chance of outliving their assets. That couple without a pension has a 90 percent chance of outliving assets.

The study confirms what Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, has been warning for years - that a smaller role for Social Security benefits, rising Medicare premiums, and disappearing pensions will make the retirement of younger workers far more difficult than those of current and past retirees. Worse, in her book "Coming Up Short," she shows that 401(k) plans are a poor replacement for worker pensions.

Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Ga., on Friday became the 10th U.S. bank to fail so far this year.

Regions Bank of Birmingham, Ala., is assuming all of Integrity Bank's $974 million in insured and uninsured deposits, and about $34.4 million of the bank's $1.1 billion in assets.

Federal regulators are shutting down a Kansas bank Columbian Bank and Trust Company.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday was appointed receiver of Columbian Bank of Topeka, Kan., which had $752 million in assets and $622 million in deposits as of June 30.

The FDIC said the bank's deposits will be assumed by Citizens Bank and Trust of Chillicothe, Mo. Its nine offices will reopen Monday as branches of Citizens Bank. Depositors of Columbian Bank will continue to have full access to their deposits, the agency said.

It was the ninth failure this year of an FDIC-insured bank.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 includes changes to reverse mortgages, including higher borrowing limits and protections from aggressive marketing. A reverse mortgage allows a homeowner who is at least 62 years old to use the equity in his or her home to obtain a loan that does not have to be repaid until the homeowner moves, sells, or dies.

The new law, which goes into affect October 1, 2008, increases the borrowing level on reverse mortgages. The national limit on the amount a homeowner can borrow will be $417,000. The limit can be increased to $625,000 in high-housing cost areas. The amount a homeowner can actually borrow depends on the home's value, location, interest rates, and the age of the borrower. Currently, the range in loan limits is between $200,160 and $362,790.

The new law also offers some protections for seniors. Aggressive marketing tactics and high fees have been cited as problems with reverse mortgages. Under the new law, fees will be capped at 2 percent of the first $200,000 borrowed and 1 percent on the balance, with a maximum of $6,000 in fees. In addition, the law prevents lenders from requiring borrowers to purchase insurance, annuities, or other products as a condition for getting a reverse mortgage. Lenders are also prohibited from working with other professionals who are trying to sell seniors financial products as part of the lending process.

Courtesy of ElderLawAnswers.com

FINRA is the group that  that regulates stockbrokers and all the securites firms.

Here's their retirement calculator.

The Social Security Administration's Inspector General concludes in a recent report that many banks are violating federal law by garnishing accounts that receive electronic deposits of Social Security benefits. The practice could imperil millions of low-income seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Social Security.

When people owe money to credit card companies and other types of lenders, the creditors often use garnishment as a way of gaining partial payment of the debt. In order to garnish a debtor's account, a creditor must go to court and obtain an order compelling the debtor's bank to relinquish a set portion of the account, often on a monthly basis in accordance with the debtor's deposits. However, federal law prohibits garnishment of accounts receiving direct deposit of Social Security benefits, except in very specific situations, such to collect child support or unpaid federal taxes.