Retirement

The Labor Department has proposed a rule that could discourage retirement funds from making investments based on environmental, social and governance considerations. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, in an opinion article Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, said the move “reminds plan providers that it is unlawful to sacrifice returns, or accept additional risk, through investments

Everyday investors may soon be able to get a piece of private equity action. The Department of Labor on Wednesday issued a letter that clarifies how, under existing rules, certain retirement plan sponsors, including 401(k)’s, can put money into private equity investments that are usually reserved for the super rich and big institutional investors. Labor

The stock market has been erratic, real estate is hurting, bond yields are painfully low and dividends are shrinking. In the coronavirus recession, most financial assets have been disturbingly volatile. But one widely held financial asset, perhaps the most important one for the vast majority of Americans, has performed splendidly: their stake in Social Security.

The extraordinarily low interest rates in place today are a boon when you’re buying a house, refinancing a mortgage, leasing a car or paying off student debt. If you qualify for a loan, low rates can help you spend less and get more. But there is a dark side to falling interest rates. While they

WASHINGTON — A government retirement fund on Wednesday halted plans to invest in Chinese stocks this year, after growing criticism that the move would channel the savings of government workers to companies that are working against the national security goals of the United States. In a statement, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which manages

Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs as the coronavirus ravages the economy, bringing the unemployment rate to a Great Depression-level 14.7 percent — and many are looking for emergency lifelines to meet living expenses. Retirement accounts will be a tempting option. Last year, about 63 million households had defined contribution plan accounts,

Sian-Pierre Regis, 35, is used to living with roommates. For the past 10 years, he has split the rent on his apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan with two (in some cases, three) friends. But in June, he’s getting a co-tenant of a different sort: his 78-year-old mother, Rebecca Danigelis. “I don’t think either

You can count on stocks to beat bonds over the long haul. That, at least, is the common wisdom, and much of the time it has even been true. But not over long stretches lately. With the chaos in the stock market in recent months, some advantages for bonds might be expected. But the outperformance

The Social Security Administration operates a vast network of more than 1,200 offices around the country that help thousands of Americans every day with applications for retirement, disability and Medicare benefits. No more. Starting Tuesday, Social Security’s field office network will be closed to the public in most situations until further notice because of the

ImageCredit…Robert Neubecker If your income has fallen or been cut off completely, we’re here to help. This guide will connect you to the basic information you’ll need to get through this, including on government benefits, free services and financial strategies. This guide has been updated with the details of the $2 trillion relief plan that

The coronavirus is rapidly slowing the U.S. economy and disrupting jobs. If you don’t have a rainy-day fund already, it’s time to set aside whatever cash you can. Most people think of an emergency fund as something saved gradually, over time. But the crisis is here now for many people — or soon will be,

When Joel Solomon sold his financial services firm in mid-January, he had been planning to call his estate lawyer to update his will and trusts. But with coronavirus cases spiking, Mr. Solomon and his wife, Nancy, decided to act immediately. “The virus accelerated the need not to wait another week or another day,” said Mr.

“I’m self-employed. Given economic uncertainty around the coronavirus outbreak, should I still make a contribution to my SEP I.R.A.?” Contributing to a retirement account warrants some caution right now for self-employed people, since they don’t get a regular paycheck. Self-employed people with SEP I.R.A.s (short for “simplified employee pension individual retirement arrangements”) often make annual

When the retirement expert Alicia H. Munnell finished gathering data for a study on American workers ages 50 to 62 in jobs without benefits, she was stunned. “When I looked at the results I thought, ‘This can’t be right,’” Dr. Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said. The study, published

For years, the country’s public pension plans have faced a yawning gap between what they owe and what they can pay. From the State of California’s public employees’ retirement plan, with more than 1.6 million participants, to tiny funds for employees of local mosquito-control programs in Illinois, public pensions are the time bomb of government

I believe the technical term for what we have been experiencing in the financial markets is: Aargh! (“Bloodsuckingly bad” also works.) I’m not sure how much it helps, but I’ve been through something like this before, during the market meltdown of 2008, when the S&P 500 fell more than 38 percent in just that year.

The trend has been moving in a positive direction: Over the past decade, far more workers who are eligible for Social Security have been waiting to file, often substantially increasing their lifetime annual benefits. But the stunning job losses in the pandemic-induced economic crisis could bring this trend to a crashing halt, as suddenly unemployed

Illinois needs more than $40 billion in relief from the federal government because of the coronavirus pandemic — including $10 billion to help bail out its beleaguered pension system, according to a letter the Illinois Senate president sent to members of Congress. The letter, sent this week by State Senator Don Harmon, also seeks a

Getty As I observed in my prior article, among Pete Buttigieg’s proposals for retirement is a “public option” 401(k) plan. According to his white paper, employers would be required to facilitate a payroll deduction and a worker choosing to participate at a 1.5% level would trigger a mandatory 3% employer contribution. He pledges that the

If you have a single aging parent who is lonely and wants companionship, should you encourage your parent to try online dating? It depends. Going online and having fun GraphicStock Technology in nearly every aspect of life promises to make things better. Internet dating sites abound, with at least five targeted particularly to seniors, those “over