Retirement Crisis?

The percentage of Americans at risk of having to cope with lower living standards in retirement has risen to 51%, seven percentage points higher than the 44% last measured in 2007, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found. And the figures would be even higher if they accounted for healthcare and long-term care, the center said.

Among low-income households, the percentage at risk is 60%, among middle-income it is 47%, and for high-income it is 42%.

And Nationwide Mutual Insurance, which underwrote the research for the National Retirement Risk Index, has found that many investors are becoming disengaged about planning for retirement. Twenty-five percent fewer people say they would seek advice before making investment decisions, and 60% less agree that retirement income is important.

“We are clearly facing a retirement crisis, one that will continue to grow as younger workers age,” said center Director Alicia H. Munnell. Both the center and Nationwide are calling on investors and their advisers to proactively prepare for retirement, particularly for advisers to empathize with their clients’ frustration and cynicism. Specifically, the organizations recommend that people save and invest more, reduce debt and work longer.

Are you on track?

5 Ways to Save for College

Here's part two of the Miami Herald series on college planning, featuring quotes from Cathy Pareto.

You might feel like you need a degree to figure out the best way to save for your child's college education.
Never mind an extra income.

But there are different options -- for nearly every budget -- that can help amass at least some of the money it will cost to pay for an education years from now.

In addition to prepaid plans that let you lock in current tuition prices, a variety of investments are designed to make your money grow.

Investments, interest rates and fees vary in these plans, so you will need to do some research before you choose one of them.

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS

Aside from prepaid tuition plans, many states offer 529 savings plans, named after a portion of the federal tax code. A 529 plan can refer to a prepaid program in which the tuition is guaranteed to be covered, like the kind Florida has, or college savings plans, in which investors manage their own accounts and there is no guarantee of the plan's value at the time a child is ready to go to school. Florida has one of those, too: the Florida Investment Plan.

Many advisors recommend using one of these plans along with a prepaid tuition plan. The money from the savings plan can be used for college expenses beyond tuition, such as textbooks.

And if there's money left in the plan when the student finishes his or her undergraduate education, it can be used toward a graduate degree, said Cathy Pareto, a certified financial planner in Coral Gables.....

Prepaid plans could solve college funding problems

Here's a recent blurb regarding college planning from The Miami Herald.

Mention that you need to start saving for your child's college tuition and you will hear the same advice from many financial planners: Pay for it in advance.
``Step one is, if you can lock in your costs at today's prices, do it,'' said Cathy Pareto, a certified financial planner in Coral Gables.

That's because the costs of college are rising at a staggering pace -- and far faster than the rate of inflation, Pareto said.

Just this year, the state raised tuition at all public universities by 8 percent and every university then raised tuition another 7 percent -- a one-year increase of 15 percent.

Read more.

http://www.cathypareto.com