Washington Post: National Center for Policy Analysis experts recap and analyze the debt ceiling debate, the S&P downgrade and the impact on 401k accounts. But NCPA says, “Of course, the driver in this perfect public policy storm is the costs of a dysfunctional heath care system.”
KXAS NBC: NCPA’s Pam Villarreal with Jane McGarry on Channel 5’s NBC DFW Non-Stop, discussing the current market turmoil.
After Congress repealed the prohibition on owning gold in 1975, the market price shot up to $139 an ounce. Recent concern over the 2008 stock market crash, and doubts about the strength of the dollar have led many investors to buy gold. Gold is at its highest price in history, over $1,400 an ounce.
The Washington Times – The NCPA’s Pam Villarreal weighs in on Social Security in a Washington Times article about retirees’ reliance on Social Security due to their lack of retirement savings.
In the fall of 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level in five years, prompting even steadfast savers to panic. The average 401(k) account fell 23 percent in 2008, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI).
The Michigan View – The NCPA analysis of 153 state and municipal plans found unfunded liabilities for health and other benefits of $558 billion and unfunded pension liabilities at a staggering total of $2.5 trillion.
Gulf Coast Business Review: Municipal pension programs are reaching crisis proportions, and several Gulf Coast cities rank among the state's worst.
The economy and changes in retirement plan options have made it difficult for small businesses to offer employer-sponsored retirement plans for employees, according to a joint report from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) and PostPartisan Foundation for The Campaign for Economic Security.
The new federal health care law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (or ACA) – uses cuts in Medicare to fund additional federal health care spending on nonseniors. The cuts come from reducing the growth in physicians' Medicare reimbursements using the existing sustainable growth rate (SGR) system and reducing future Medicare payment updates for hospitals and other nonphysician services by the economy-wide increase in productivity.
Disability costs are rising in many countries, including the United States. Disability is the fastest-rising component of U.S. Social Security, growing at nearly twice the rate of retirement benefit spending. Chile, however, reversed this trend when it implemented a new retirement and disability benefits system in 1981.
American workers live longer each decade but they continue to retire early. They often begin receiving Social Security benefits, quit working and stop contributing to national output well before age 65. Reversing these trends must be an important objective when designing long-term reforms to balance revenues and expenditures on elderly entitlements.
Investors breathed a tentative sigh of relief in recent months as they watched their retirement accounts make up for lost ground. Just a few months earlier, as they watched their 401(k)s weather dramatic stock market swings, many may have wished they were covered by a defined benefit pension plan from their employer (or union).
In 2008 Chile initiated a major reform to its personal account social security system. The personal account system, established in 1981, replaced a traditional pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) system in which workers paid taxes that financed the benefits of those who had already retired – similar to Social Security in the United States.
People have a great deal of control over whether or not their retirement will be comfortable. Millions of Americans are preparing for retirement by saving in tax-favored retirement accounts – principally Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. But savers must be aware of common practices that can derail even the best-laid retirement plans.
Beginning in 2010, a new rule change allows people with an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to reduce their tax burden at retirement by converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. Before deciding if such a conversion would benefit you, there are a few important things to consider.
In fall 2008, the stock market suffered a severe decline. Fear prompted a number of individuals to suspend contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts. They reasoned that holding the money and having it retain its face value was preferable to putting it in a money-losing investment. Even employees who were invested in bonds, rather than equities, stopped contributing. Some companies temporarily suspended their matching contributions.
Socially responsible investing (SRI) is the practice of choosing stocks, bonds or mutual funds based on political, religious or social values. This investment strategy can be hazardous to an individual's portfolio, and if followed by state and local employee pension funds can adversely affect thousands of people's retirement incomes.
Personal retirement accounts are a valuable tool in building a retirement nest egg. The recent fall in the stock market has caused some savers to cash out their savings. This is unfortunate because the stock market has rebounded after every fall, and those who are not in the market at the bottom will lose out as it rises. There are other practices that can derail even the best laid retirement plans. This study addresses 10 of them.