| A Brave New Retirement World
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For years, ever since companies started abandoning their "don't worry about a thing" traditional pension plans, many U.S. workers have been left on their own to successfully manage the "get it right or retire penniless" 401(k) option. But now the pendulum may be swinging again as many companies are moving back to a more paternalistic stance, making their 401(k) look a little bit like a traditional pension. That means automatically enrolling workers in 401(k) plans (workers must opt-out if they don't want to participate), automatically ramping up workers' savings rate annually and pushing workers into riskier investment options that are more equity-based and thus more likely to grow enough to provide for workers' retirement needs. "There's a philosophical shift underway," said David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America, an association that represents companies offering profit-sharing and 401(k) plans.
How high can you go?
I AM old enough to remember the collapse of Estate Mortgage. Thousands of retirees lost their nest eggs through a mortgage trust that paid above-average income returns, invested in dodgy property developments and collapsed when the property market slowed. Sound familiar? While not a mortgage trust, the parallels with Fincorp are all there. The lure of high returns can be irresistible for self-funded retirees wanting to earn every dollar they can to pay for their retirement. But sometimes chasing the very top returns just isn't worth it. Also, it is imperative you understand where your money is going to earn that high return for you. A "term deposit" sounds safe but if your money is lent to property developers (who can't raise funds from traditional financiers) prepared to pay a higher interest rate, then the risk levels rise dramatically.
Retirement under review after victory
A WIN in the $2000 Kent's Building Supplies Three Year Old Pace (1880m) should force the owners of Babaganoosh to reconsider giving up on the filly. She bolted down the outside to claim the race at Highland's Paceway on Saturday, beating out favourite Dancinatmidnight and She's All Oliver. The three hit the line together with Babaganoosh taking it on the outside by half a head. Bathurst driver John O'Shea now believes the owners of the Darrell Dwyer-trained three-year-old should think twice about sending her to the paddock. "I think they were going to put her in the paddock but I don't know now," O'Shea said. She had previously had only one win from 11 starts, collecting just $1860 in prize money, but that has now nearly doubled after the win. O'Shea took the bay filly out three wide with half a lap remaining to give her a chance at the win and the move paid off.
City weighs cutting employee benefits
ROSEMEAD - The city is looking for ways to cut employee benefits because of a drain on the budget. City officials have been meeting with employees and informing them of possible changes to their benefits and retirement packages, although nothing has been finalized or proposed to the City Council. Estimates show that the city will have to pay up to $12 million out of the it's coffers for the employee packages and retirement plans, said Oliver Chi, deputy city manager. "We don't think we can afford it," Chi said. "If we're being fiscally responsible, we have to come up with a plan that will cost the city less." Costly retirement packages and lifelong health care coverage that currently doesn't cost employees anything will bleed the city's budget if a change is not made, Chi said.
Mozambique to fight poverty with social security system
Maputo, Mozambique 04/13 - Mozambican Labour Minister Helena Taipo, said government was committed to fighting poverty in the country with a strong social security system, national news agency, AIM, reported Thursday.
Speaking at a workshop here Wednesday on extending Social Security to self-employed Mozambican workers, she said the system was a fundamental tool in the fight against poverty, for greater social cohesion and promotion of the people`s welfare.
The Mozambican parliament late last year passed a Social Protection Law, under which self-employed people could contribute to the social security system directly, rather than through an employer, as is the case with waged workers.
Taipo said government had taken measures over the last two years to enable the National Social Security Institute (INSS) improve its services.
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