In Brief

AICPA Finds Economic Worries Delay Life DecisionsApproximately four out of 10 American adults are postponing making major life decisions either because they haven’t saved enough money or they’re worried about the U.S. economy, according to a recent poll conducted for the American Institute of CPAs by Harris Interactive. Decisions involving home ownership, higher education, marriage, children, medical procedures and retirement are among those that Americans are fretting over. Eleven percent more adults are postponing such decisions compared to a year ago.

The survey found that 28 percent are postponing these life decisions because of a lack of savings, while 18 percent pointed to concerns about the economic state of the U.S. Fifty-four percent expressed a pessimistic outlook about the year ahead. The survey polled 1,026 Americans over the age of 18.

SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS PRIOR 401(K) RULING

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act authorizes participants of defined-contribution pension plans to sue ERISA fiduciaries under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) to recover losses arising from a breach of fiduciary duties to their individual plan accounts. The ruling is limited to participants of defined-contribution plans and draws the distinction between traditional defined-benefit plans and the defined-contribution plan at issue in the case.

ONLINE RESOURCE FOR PLANNERS

Raymond James Financial Services has launched PracticeIntelligence, an online community of resources, models, collaborative opportunities, processes and procedures. The resource also includes centers for business management, marketing, practice planning, networking, education, coaching and client service.

For more, visit www.raymondjames.com.

E*TRADE FINANCIAL OFFERS RETIREMENT CALCULATOR

E*Trade Financial has added Retirement QuickPlan, a free, four-step retirement planning tool that provides an immediate assessment of an individual’s or family’s retirement savings and investing plan, as well as tips to help get on track with personal retirement goals.

The calculator allows the user to adjust settings to determine how changes to target retirement age, monthly savings, investing or expenses could impact projected retirement assets. To access the calculator, visit www.etrade.com.

BKD WEALTH ADVISORS NAMES CIO

BKD Wealth Advisors, a unit of super-regional CPA and business advisory firm BKD LLP, has elevated principal Jeffrey Layman to the post of chief investment officer. Layman is the first person to hold that post at BKD Wealth Advisors since it was formed in 1998. With $1.5 billion in assets under management as of year-end 2007, BKD Wealth Advisors serves more than 1,100 clients in 32 states.

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