Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! We have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. This is the news you need to know in the fight for a secure retirement.
Before you dive into our top stories from this week, make sure you check out stories of public employees helping their communities.
Here is our top story:
Retirement savings by age: What to know by Rachel Layne. According to Pew Research, half of Americans 55 and older decided to retire amid the pandemic. However, some of those retirees have seen a decline in their nest eggs due to inflation and the rocky stock market– pushing many of those recent retirees to return to work. This has many wondering how they can prepare for a secure retirement. Danielle Harrison, a certified financial planner and founder of Harrison Financial Planning in Columbia, Missouri, recommends starting to prepare for retirement at a younger age. “When you start saving as a young adult, time is on your side. You can begin setting aside a small percentage of your paycheck, let compounding do the hard lifting, and be well prepared for retirement,” Harrison said. However, over half of Americans don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, and the majority of public employees and young workers can’t afford to contribute to their retirement on their modest salaries. Pensions allow young workers to save for retirement when they otherwise would not be able to contribute due to student loans and high housing costs. When it comes to how much should be put away for retirement, many factors come to play including “the current financial circumstances, retirement timing, potential investment returns, expected lifestyle and corresponding living expenses (including anticipated medical care)”. Pensions provide a secure, reliable, guaranteed monthly benefit for public retirees for life, making it easier to budget for monthly expenses.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!
