For investors, playing it ‘safe’ can be risky
Safety? What safety? Long-term cost of ditching stocks an incentive for investors to hold on Dave Carpenter, AP Personal Finance Writer, On Friday October 21, 2011, 3:58 pm EDT CHICAGO (AP) -- Investors remain anxious to find safety even as the stock market moves back toward positive territory for the year. They're on pace to yank more than $20 billion out of stock funds this month, the fourth time in the last five months, scarred by the volatility over everything from the sluggish economy to Europe's debt crisis to the threat of another global recession. Despite the recent market uptick,…
IRS boosts maximum 401(k) contribution to $17,000
IRS raises maximum 401(k) contribution by $500 to $17,000 for 2012 to reflect inflation On Thursday October 20, 2011, 3:20 pm EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service is raising the maximum contribution that workers can make to their 401(k) pension plans without paying upfront taxes. The limit will rise by $500 to $17,000 next year. The increase is required by law to adjust for inflation. The ceiling hadn't grown since 2009 because inflation had been too low to trigger an increase. Companies that set up 401(k) plans for their employees are free to limit maximum contributions…
Estate Executors: An Honor…and a Pain
By ARDEN DALE Being asked by friends or family to be executor of an estate is a big honor, but the warm feelings can vanish once the job starts. A long list of tasks comes with the chore of handling an estate after someone dies. There can be legal repercussions if something goes wrong. And it is not unusual for relationships to sour along the way. Anyone who takes on the job has to be organized, with an appetite for red tape and tedium. Executorships gone bad are on the rise, according to Margaret E.W. Sager, a partner at…
4 Secrets to Happiness in Retirement
By Catey Hill Retirement isn’t necessarily a happy time for people. Just 60% of current retirees say that their retirement is “very satisfying,” according to research by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Nearly one in five retirees say that they are experiencing lower levels of overall well-being in retirement than they were before they retired, the study found. “Retirement affords increased opportunities for living the good life,” write Andrew Burr, Jonathan Santo and Dolores Pushkar in their study “Affective Well-Being in Retirement” published in the Journal of Happiness Studies. “But it is also a hallmark of…
4 Reasons Your Retirement Is Nothing Like Mom’s
By Catey Hill Your parents’ idea of retirement probably looked something like this: Quit working completely, play a little golf, maybe pick up a new hobby, but most of all — chill. But for baby boomers, the idea of golf or knitting 24/7 just doesn’t cut it. More than two in three middle-class boomers say that they expect their retirement will be “drastically” different than their parents, according to a new study by Bankers Life and Casualty Company’s Center for Secure Retirement. “The current generation of seniors saw retirement as really slowing down,” says Scott Perry, the president of…