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
May 17, 2013
Americans want to strengthen & pay for Social Security, not cut it
Labels:
Social Security
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/
http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/01/pf/kids-money.moneymag/
May 16, 2013
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/
Labels:
retirement,
Social Security
May 14, 2013
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
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
Labels:
credit report,
credit score
May 13, 2013
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
http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2013/05/08-should-everyone-go-to-college-owen-sawhill
Labels:
college costs
May 8, 2013
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."
"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.
Labels:
retirement,
women finances
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/
Labels:
retirement income,
retirement planning
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
Labels:
payday loans
May 7, 2013
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/
Labels:
financial planning,
middle class
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