February 2020
Retirement Articles This Week
Your Retirement Help Center!
We'll focus on websites and publications that help prepare and plan your retirement and personal finance decisions. Visit us each week. Thank you for visiting and gaining great retirement insight!
GM To Employees...Forget About The Company Match
General Motors Corp is suspending matching payments to employee 401K plans as of November 1 and continues to assess its staffing needs as part of efforts to conserve cash amid a deep downturn in sales, the automaker said on Thursday.
Wise Owl
Here's A PBGC Update....
Put Your Retirement Worries to Rest. No, Wait....
Were your 401k retirement savings decimated by the recent tumble in the stock market? Not to worry. You always have your old company pension plan to fall back on, right? Errrr...
It turns out that the federal agency that backstops private pension plans also was hammered by the market meltdown. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said today that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. lost "at least $3 billion" in stock investments in its trust fund in the 11 months ended Aug. 31.
Courtesy of Portfolio.com
Your Social Security Check Will Be Larger In January
Can't Invest In A Hedge Fund? You're Lucky..Check The Numbers
Hedge funds lost nearly $300 billion due to bad investments in the first nine months of the year, according to an analysis of return data by TIME.com. If the losses stand, it would be by far the worst year for these funds — which are unregulated and open only to high-net-worth investors — since their returns began being tracked in the mid-1970s. "It's not going to be a good year," says Peter Laurelli, vice president at HedgeFund.net.
CALPERS Update...Pension Funds Are Getting Clobbered
The largest public pension fund in the U.S. lost almost $67 billion in 12 months, more than 25 percent of its value, as stock markets tumbled.
The market value of the California Public Employees' Retirement System declined to $193.7 billion as of Oct. 9, from $260.6 billion a year earlier. Between Sept. 15, when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, and last week, the fund's stock holdings declined by $12.4 billion to $36.8 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Trying to reach your 401k or IRA provider..Here's some Tips
Many of you have probably tried to reach your 401k, 403b or IRA custodian this week. It's been frustrating. Let's face it -everyone is calling in right now. After making several phone calls this week, here's some information I think will be helpful:
Conservative investments are available inside of a 401k or 403b plan. Each plan will have a menu of investment choices and you could exchange your funds into a money market or stable account. The yields are low but this might be a strategy for investors getting closer to retirement to minimize risk. Call your plan or look at their website to see the most conservative funds available.
Your brokerage IRA account will offer money markets ( both government and treasury..lower yields and safer ) and also CD's. The CD's will have FDIC insurance and come in different maturities- 3 month, 6 month etc. This can be a good strategy for investors who can not tolerate any risk and want the FDIC backing. Also treasuries may be available too, but will probably have lower yields than CD's.
Your Russian retirement Plan Is...Ugh, Down
The Bailout Bill Will Benefit Charities
The provision will be made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008, and will apply to gifts made from that date through Dec. 31, 2009.
The provision exempts from taxable income any funds transferred (“rolled over”) from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable organization. The following limitations apply:
- The donor must be age 70½ or older.
- The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000.
- The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts).
“If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down.”
Right you are George.....Here's a look at another crazy Monday on Wall Street. The Dow was down over 800 points at one point today.
Forbes Suggest 15 Ways To Retire Early
Live Below Your Means
We have all heard the expression, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Don't just earn money, save it. Be frugal. This means not buying nice things just because you can afford them or for the image they create, but because they are actually worth it. Dismiss the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality.
Unemployed Need To Understand Cobra
Looks like unemployment is rising, 6.1% according to reports last week. If you're company is downsizing it's a good time to shop for private health insurance and understand the basics of COBRA coverage: Terry Savage provides information on the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.
COBRA coverage extends for 18 months in most cases. It's extended to 29 months for a disabled employee, or 36 months for those who are widowed and the spouse was covered, a dependent whose covered parent died, or the spouse/ family of one who opted for Medicare. You must pay the full cost -- 102 percent of the cost, to be exact, to cover the extra expense of handling your account! The coverage extends to your spouse and family if they were previously covered under the company plan.
You don't have a lot of time to think about the alternatives because you must elect COBRA within 60 days of being notified of the "qualifying event" -- receiving your termination notice, for example.
That's why it's so very important to understand how COBRA coverage works -- and your alternatives. The best place to start is www. CobraLearning.com -- a Web site developed by eHealthInsurance .com that offers information and quotes on individual health policies, no matter where you live.