From the Financial Times.com, “401(k) investors, prick up your ears“:
Dear reader, ask yourself: Have you ever looked at the roster of mutual fund offerings in your 401(k) and wondered, how. . . did this fund get in here? Now you know. Investors can be forgiven for suffering from scandal fatigue at this point, but they should prick up their ears on this one. No man can serve two masters, yet many pension consultants routinely do. . .
An op-ed from John Wasik for Bloomberg.com–“Many Questions, Few Answers on Pension Consultants.”
From Forbes.com, “Funds: Many investors neglect the key to retirement“:
In a study, the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute came up with surprising answers that suggest how individuals can boost their retirement prospects. . . Even if stocks match the returns of their worst 50-year period on record — 1929 to 1978 — workers with continuous 401(k) coverage would still be able to replace 72 percent to 92 percent of their pre-retirement income. So if you have a 401(k), take advantage of it.
From ABC Action News.com, “PA Workers in Retirement Rush”:
More than 1,400 state employees have announced their retirement this year, and officials say another 4,000 are expected to do so by the end of June. That way they’ll avoid paying more for health insurance. Employees who retire after July first will see a reduced benefits package, according to provisions in the 2003 state employees’ contract. That deadline has prompted one state worker in 14 to call it quits this year – and one in nine over the past 18 months
From Liz Pulliam Weston at MSN Money.com, “Is the new wave in health insurance for you?“:
Architect Robert Payne of Richmond, Va., signed up for a Medical Savings Account — the predecessor to the HSA — as soon as Congress made them available in 1997. He bought a high-deductible insurance policy that required him to pay the first $3,500 of medical expenses for himself and his wife each year, and put that much tax-deductible money into an investment account offered by Health Savings Administrators, also of Richmond. . . Most years, the Paynes haven’t had to take much out of their account, which is invested in low-cost Fidelity mutual funds. Even after back surgery last year, Payne still has a $30,000 balance. “When you’re self-employed, it really couldn’t be any better,” Payne said. “You can put away money, and it keeps compounding.”
From the blogosphere:
From the TaxProf Blog, “The End Of Tax As We Know It?“:
Six red-state Republican Senators (Brownback (Kan.), Craig (Idaho), Chambliss (Ga.), Crapo (Idaho), Graham (S.C.) & Inhofe (Okla.)) have introduced the Tax Code Termination Act (S. 2463), which would repeal the Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2010. The bill does not say what will take the place of the Tax Code. Instead, the bill directs that Congress enact a new “simple and fair” tax law by July 4, 2009. . .
From Roth CPA.com, “IRS: OZONE POLICE.”
If you are interested in the whole Atkins-diet phenomena, the Securities Litigation Watch has an interesting post worth reading, “Blaming Atkins, Part III: And We Have a Winner.”