More than 1.3 million laid-off workers won’t get their unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on a weeklong break for Independence Day.

And hundreds of thousands more will lose their benefits in the coming weeks.

The House voted 270-153 Thursday to extend jobless benefits for people who have been laid off for long stretches, but the gesture was made futile by the Senate’s inability to pass the bill. For the third time in as many weeks, Republicans in the Senate successfully filibustered a similar measure Wednesday night before senators adjourned for vacation.

A little more than 1.3 million people have already lost benefits since the last extension ran out at the end of May, according to the Labor Department. By the end of the week, the number will jump to 1.7 million. By the end of July, it would top 3 million.



Our US markets have focused on Europe the last month- especially Greece and news from France on a changing retirement age. Yes, the French do retire early and their retirement age will rise gradually to age 62.  Here's a look at retirement ages around the globe:

For persons born during the years 1943-1954, the full retirement age is 66.  If you start receiving benefits early- at age 62 your benefits will be reduced:

25 percent at age 62

20 percent at age 63

13 1/3 percent at age 64

6 2/3 percent  at age 65

I'm getting closer to age 62 and will start to explore reverse mortagage information.  MetLife is one provider available.  Here's the MetLife Reverse mortgage page.

May has not been  a great month for the stock market.  If you look at your IRA or 401k statements you'll probably be disappointed.  I have a feeling many of us will put our portfolios on the back burner this summer and focus on....a backyard barbecue!  Here's some insight from TheStreet.com:

One of the most widely touted market calendar myths is that you should "sell in May and go away." This system apparently worked well from 1950 until about 2003. The Stock Trader's Almanac has assembled data for all the midyear swoons since 1950, but I'd like to bring you the data before 1950 and since 2003.

Last week, S&P strategist Sam Stovall took a new look at the "Sell in May" theory, taking the data back to 1933 (through 2009). He discovered that the S&P 500 index gained 2.5% on average during the months of May through October. More importantly, Stovall also looked at the 15 years like this one - the second year of a bull market -- and he found that the May-October gains in all 15 of those instances (since 1933) averaged +5.5%. Only once (in 1971), did the May-October months deliver a major loss.

Retiree's who need income right now face a real dilemma-interest rates are extremely low!  Using CD's and bond funds in your retirement portfolio should always be a starting point.  Income annuities can be another key.  The Wall Street Journal has two strategies that will help:

One strategy is to put money into immediate annuities in several lumps over time, rather than all at once. That would allow an investor to get the annuity guarantees on some portion of the money while, hopefully, capturing the better returns whenever interest rates rise in the future. The remaining money can be held in cash or, depending on the time frame, placed in an investment that will hopefully grow at a higher rate of return than can be earned in the annuity

Use annuities that have inflation adjustments.  Some annuities will raise the payout based on changes in the CPI while others offer contracts where the payout is increased by a fixed amount -- such as 2% or 3% -- every year for life. Some companies offer both options.

There are other variations as well. New York Life, for example, offers an option on its Lifetime Income Annuity that will increase its payout should interest rates rise by more than two percentage points when the policy hits its fifth anniversary.

Think the US has a problem with Social Security and Medicare?  Greece will face a dramatic overhaul of it's retirement system.   Analyst's point out the US may face these same changes.

The reforms seek to prevent early retirement. Currently the average age of retirement in Greece is 61, though it is not uncommon for public sector workers to retire in their 50s.

Under the planned changes, the retirement age, which is currently 65 years for men and 60 years for women, will be linked to average life expectancy.

In addition, the minimum number of years someone will have had to have worked to qualify for a full pension will rise to 40 years from 37.

Pensions will also be reduced so that they reflect a worker's average working pay rather than their final salary.

US markets closed sharply lower Thursday. The DJIA finished off down 3.20%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.24% and the NASDAQ fell 3.44%.

Data compiled by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reveals the extent of the pay gap between federal and private workers.

As of 2008, the average federal salary was $119,982, compared with $59,909 for the average private sector employee. In other words, the average federal bureaucrat makes twice as much as the average working taxpayer.

Add the value of benefits like health care and pensions, and the gap grows even bigger. The average federal employee's benefits add $40,785 to his annual total compensation, whereas the average working taxpayer's benefits increase his total compensation by only $9,881. In other words, federal workers are paid on average salaries that are twice as generous as those in the private sector, and they receive benefits that are four times greater.

GM disclosed April 7 that its plans were underfunded by more than $27 billion, with more than half of that being owed to U.S. workers and retirees. Across town, a post- bankrupt Chrysler faces its own pension shortfall. Moreover, a report last week from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) says the pension crisis in the auto industry could create an unprecedented crisis for the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., a government-sponsored organization to backstop company pensions.

Could taxpayers really be on the hook for UAW pensions?

Yes. GM could face a funding crisis in 2013 or 2014 when, under the current projections, the automaker will be required to make more than $12 billion in contributions to its pension funds to keep them solvent, according to the GAO analysis. Chrysler's estimated future pension obligation is $3 billion. If the companies cannot meet their funding obligations they may have to terminate their plans, and the financial responsibilities (up to government limits) would be assumed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. The funding could easily become a serious challenge for the PBGC, which says it is now facing $168 billion in possible plan terminations across a range of companies, many of them auto suppliers.

What happens to GM and Chrysler pensioners if the PBGC takes over the funds?

The retirees could face dramatic cuts. The PBGC promises a certain level of benefits, but $35 billion of the two automakers' promised pension benefits fall beyond the PBGC guarantees. In 2010, a single 65-year old retiree is guaranteed a maximum of $54,000 per year under the PBGC guidelines, and many GM retirees have earned benefits in excess of the PBGC limits.