From the LA Times, “Boards Heeding Investor Activists“:
Inspired by their success at Walt Disney Co., activist shareholders have jolted corporate America with a flurry of challenges led by increasingly aggressive institutional investors. In the most recent uprising, a group of large public pension funds in effect declared war on Safeway Inc., announcing their goal of overhauling the board, getting rid of the chief executive and setting the company on a drastically new course.
From the Star Telegram.com, “Senior Notes“:
Tensions are rising among couples in which the husband retires and the wife continues to work. A Cornell University study of 534 retirement-age men and women found that working women whose husbands were retired or disabled were the least happy with their marriage. Working men whose wives stayed home were the most happy.
From the Miami Herald.com, “Health Savings Accounts Are Tax-Free Way to Save for Medical Expenses.”
From Bloomberg.com, “Most Financial Advisers Wrong on Retirement Targets“:
When you ask your financial adviser–“How much will I need to retire?”–the chances are you’ll get a wrong answer. The problem is that financial planning has become a moving target largely because funding for Social Security, Medicare and employee retirement and health benefits are in doubt.
From the Houston Chronicle.com, “30 years later, IRAs still crucial plank in retirement strategy“:
Happy 30th birthday to the Individual Retirement Account Created by Congress in 1974, the IRA has become a useful tool for workers to save for retirement, especially those who don’t have company-sponsored plans.
(Comment: The article mentions a helpful tool on Fidelity’s website which is a calculator to determine whether a traditional IRA or a Roth would be better. It is called the IRA Evaluator and you can access it here. )
A press release from Yahoo.com–“Recent Cash Balance Conversions Have Actually Increased Company Costs, Watson Wyatt Study Finds“:
Most companies that converted to cash balance and other hybrid pension plans in recent years saw total retirement plan costs increase – not decrease, as hybrid plan critics argue – according to a comprehensive new study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. In addition, the vast majority of companies provided generous transition benefits to protect workers during conversions.