Retirement

One out of every five senior citizens has been the victim of a financial scam, according to a recent survey by Infogroup/ORC, and the Illinois CPA Society has published a set of tips to help them avoid scams and protect their money:

Rising tuition fees and the uncertain state of the economy are causing more people to put their own retirement savings ahead of their children’s college education.

Dramatically high percentages of Americans —even in the upper income categories—are likely to run short of money after 10 or 20 years of retirement, according to a new study.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an asset freeze against a Jacksonville, Fla.-based retirement benefits consulting firm that defrauded active and retired government employees and law enforcement agents nationwide through a Ponzi scheme that promised them safe investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to propose rule amendments to help clarify the meaning of a date in a target date fund’s name and enhance the information provided to investors in these funds as they invest for retirement.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued a document outlining its preliminary views on how to improve pension accounting and financial reporting by government employers.

AMERICANS WORRIED ABOUT RETIREMENT SAVINGS

Employers with at least 500 employees remain hesitant to adopt automatic enrollment features in their retirement savings plans and automatically enroll their employees, according to a new survey by AARP.

More than 7.3 million older Americans — one out of every five citizens over the age of 65 — already have been victimized by a financial swindle, according to a new survey.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun mailing out questionnaires to 401(k) plan sponsors to assess compliance with retirement plan regulations.

COLLEGE-BOUND TEENS RECONSIDER PLANS

Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are either a little or far behind financially in terms of preparing for retirement, according to a new survey.

The federal government is losing millions of dollars every year due to increasing taxpayer noncompliance with Individual Retirement Account requirements, according to a new government report.

The Treasury Department has launched a new initiative to dramatically increase the number of electronic transactions, including quarterly tax payments, in order to reduce paperwork.

The majority of employers who made changes to their retirement plans during the economic downturn expect to keep those changes in place throughout 2010, according to a new survey.

IMGCAP(1)]The financial planning landscape has dramatically changed over the past five years.

Workers who are offered 401(k) plans, or similar employee-funded arrangements, exhibit more proactive retirement savings behaviors, demonstrate higher levels of knowledge about retirement investing, and are more confident in their ability to retire comfortably, according to a new survey.

As the population ages and the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement, incidents of financial elder abuse are growing more common — and accountants need to be more vigilant than ever in looking after their clients’ interests, according to Randy Werner, a CPA and loss prevention specialist at professional liability insurer CAMICO.

Advisors Trusted Advisor has enhanced its online Roth Conversion Optimizer.

Auto-enrollment of participants in 401(k) plans is likely to be most beneficial to young and low-income workers, according to new research.