Americans want to strengthen & pay for Social Security, not cut it

According to a new study, "Support for Social Security is particularly strong among African Americans and Hispanics, according to a brief released today by the nonpartisan National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Strengthening Social Security: What Do Americans Want: Views Among African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and White Americans finds a sharp contrast between what Americans say they want and changes being discussed in Washington, such as cutting benefits by using a “chained” Consumer Price Index (CPI) to determine Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)."
“A true test of Americans’ support for Social Security is their willingness to pay for it,” said Jasmine Tucker, Senior Policy Analyst at NASI and author of the brief. “Americans across racial and ethnic groups say they don’t mind paying Social Security taxes because the program helps millions of people and because they and their families benefit from it." Read the brief at http://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/Views_Among_African_Americans_Hispanic_Americans.pdf

3 skills teens need to learn about money

"The most important money-management skills to teach teenagers are how to manage a limited budget, how to save a portion of income and how to avoid building up credit debt, Karen Cheney writes. Get teens set up with a bank account and debit card and let them manage their expenses for clothes and entertainment, for example, and get out a calculator to show how compound interest works." Learn more at: 
http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/01/pf/kids-money.moneymag/

Delaying Social Security “is the best deal in town”

You can’t always get what you want.  But if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need. Rolling Stones, 1969.

“There is nothing better that most people can do to get what they’ll need in retirement than delaying when they start collecting Social Security.”  According to analysis by the Center for Retirement Research, the payoff for delaying claiming Social Security retirement benefits is “enormous.”  For example, “take someone who’s 60 and could get $10,000 per year by claiming Social Security today. That would increase to more than $13,000 per year by waiting until 66 and to more than $17,000 by waiting until 70.”  Read the details on the Squared Away blog: http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/getting-what-you-need-for-retirement/

Annuities 101 Webinar May 16

Confused as to whether annuities fit into your retirement plans?  Are you trying to decide on lump sum payout or what to do with this money? This is one of the many great financial webinars from UF/IFAS Extension. Learn about different types of annuities and things to consider before purchasing. Discussion includes types of annuities; fees & charges; and settlement options.
1:30 to 2:30 PM MDT http://bit.ly/Annuities101

Americans don't understand credit scores

"Between one-quarter and two-fifths of consumers can't answer basic questions about their credit scores, and many believe that age and marital status affect their scores, according to a survey by the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions. By failing to understand credit scores, people "have little incentive to manage the real things that truly do make a difference, such things as paying bills on time, keeping credit card balances low, and not taking out unnecessary loans," said Barrett Burns, president and CEO of VantageScore." Retirement Security SmartBrief, May 14, 2013. For details: http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_92/study-shows-widespread-ignorance-on-credit-scores-1059067-1.html

Should Everyone Go To College?

Research published by the Brookings Institution suggests that the return on an investment in college is not always positive. According to researcher Isabel Sawhill, "There is enormous variation in the so-called return to education depending on factors such as institution attended, field of study, whether a student graduates, and post-graduation occupation. While the average return to obtaining a college degree is clearly positive, we emphasize that it is not universally so. For certain schools, majors, occupations, and individuals, college may not be a smart investment. By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice." With the rising cost of college and high student debt loads, this article is must reading for high school students and their parents:
http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2013/05/08-should-everyone-go-to-college-owen-sawhill

Project Renewment: a Retirement Model for Career Women

"For the first time in history, career women—women who have worked outside the home for most of their lives—are retiring. These women are highly skilled, educated and successful. They have achieved visibility, status and influence. And, because they are the first large group of American women to define themselves by their work, they have few, if any, models for retirement." 
"Bratter (a marriage and family therapist) and Dennis (an expert on the issues of aging, employment, and retirement) wrote a book, Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women, to communicate what they had learned and to help other career women make their own successful “renewment” transitions."

“Renewment” is a term that Bratter and Dennis created as an alternative to “retirement”—a word that is often associated with negative stereotypes and clichés. “In contrast,” they write, “renewment is positive, suggesting rebirth, choices, vitality, opportunity and personal growth.”  They further explained, “It implies that decisions about the next chapter of life can be intentional rather than defined by the needs and expectations of others.” "Their book also includes guidelines for creating and sustaining project renewment discussion groups." For more information, visit www.ProjectRenewment.com.

Translating Savings to Retirement Income

"Determining how much money one will need in retirement is a mathematically and psychologically daunting task for many Americans. But new research has landed on a deceptively simple strategy for prodding workers to save.
Employees in an experiment at the University of Minnesota saved more for retirement after researchers provided them with a personalized chart with information similar to that shown below. Each employee’s chart translated a $100, $200, or $500 contribution, made every other week, into the amount of income each of these contributions would generate annually once they retired. If they saved more, they could see that it translated to more retirement income." Learn more about this concept at the Center for Retirement Research's "Squared Away Blog" and consider what it means to your own life: http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/translating-savings-to-retirement-income/

Payday Loans Cost the Economy

I expect most readers of this blog know that payday loans are toxic for consumers; unfortunately our legislators are more heavily influenced by industry lobbyists than research. Perhaps this data on the negative impact on the economy will hold some weight. “Payday loans cost the U.S. economy nearly $1 billion and thousands of jobs in 2011, according to a report from the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.”

“The study says that the burden of repaying the loans resulted in $774 million in lost consumer spending and 14,000 job losses. Bankruptcies related to payday loans numbered 56,230, taking an additional $169 million out of the economy.”  Read more at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100701516

Financial Planning for the Middle Class

USA Today has an article, “Middle class struggles to get good financial advice,” by Christine Dugas that addresses how financial advisors and websites are beginning to cater to the needs of the middle class.  The article contains links to some great websites and resources. Check it out: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/05/05/middle-class-financial-advice/2090441/