Recently added articles from Kiplinger's Retirement Report:

Reverse Mortgage Abuse on the Rise.

May 01, 2008 ... AFTER HER HUSBAND died in November 2003, Ernestine Boach met with a financial adviser, who told her that her $60,000 life-insurance policy was inadequate. He assured Boach, who had just retired as a clerk for a local school district, that he could boost the value of the estate that she ...

From the Editor.(Editorial)

May 01, 2008 ... A REVERSE mortgage can be a godsend for seniors who need cash to pay for medications, home repairs or a trip to see the grandkids. But these products are also expensive and complex, and it's essential that borrowers understand what they are getting into. As the population ages, ...

High 401(k) Fees Can Erode Your Savings.

May 01, 2008 ... YOU MAY BE a dedicated contributor to your 401(k) plan, but you're probably clueless about how much you're paying in plan fees. Yet those charges could be costing you a bundle, nibbling away at your nest egg. Mutual fund returns in 401(k) plans are normally reported as net ...

Find Yields and Safety With Municipal Bonds.

May 01, 2008 ... IN A WORLD of paltry fixed-income yields, municipal bonds look relatively good. Tax-exempt munis are usually a good bet for those in higher income brackets. But the securities have become attractive for all investors in recent months because they've been offering higher absolute yields ...

A Failed Broker Won't Crack a Nest Egg.

May 01, 2008 ... THE NEAR-FAILURE of Bear Stearns struck fear in the hearts of many investors who wondered what would happen to their nest eggs if their brokerage firms went belly up. Little need to worry. There are protections in place that should keep your savings secure if your broker goes bankrupt. ...

Brighter Times Ahead?

May 01, 2008 ... ECONOMY n Brighter times ahead? Gross domestic product will slow this year to about 1%, a result of housing and credit woes ...

Will Home Prices Continue to Fall?

May 01, 2008 ... n Still hurting. Home prices will continue to fall in many areas into 2009. Cities hurting the most include Detroit, Cleveland and ...

Actively Managed ETFs.

May 01, 2008 ... n Actively managed ETFs. A new breed of exchange-traded funds have hit the market. Although traditional ETFs track an index, these new ETFs are actively managed. The Bear Stearns Current Yield Fund (symbol YYY) holds short-term ...

More Income Funds.

May 01, 2008 ... n More income funds. Charles Schwab has joined Fidelity and Vanguard in the income-fund marketplace. Schwab's three funds are designed to generate a targeted annual payout, ...

The Minimum Drops for Treasuries.

May 01, 2008 ... n Minimum drops. All Treasury bills, notes, bonds and Treasury inflation-protected securities are now available in minimum and ...

Tool for Predicting Nest-Egg Success.

May 01, 2008 ... RETIREMENT SAVINGS n Check your plan. With TD Ameritrade's WealthRuler, you put in current savings, expected retirement age and projected monthly ...

IRA Investors Preserve Assets.

May 01, 2008 ... n IRA investors preserve assets. Among IRA owners who took withdrawals in tax year 2006, 62% said required minimum distributions were a top reason for making ...

Web Worksheets for Retirement Planning.

May 01, 2008 ... n Web worksheets. The U.S. Labor Department launched an online resource to help individuals calculate retirement income and savings as well as projected expenses ....

Online Annuity Tool.

May 01, 2008 ... n Online annuity tool. Fidelity.com offers the Guaranteed Income Estimator for shoppers of immediate income annuities ....

Gender Differences with respect to Income from Annuities and Pensions.

May 01, 2008 ... n Gender differences. About one-fourth of retired men and 18% of women over age 50 receive income from annuities and pensions, ...

Roll to a Roth.

May 01, 2008 ... TAXES n Roll to a Roth. Starting this year, workers can roll assets from company plans to Roth IRAs if they have ...

IRS Audits of Defined-Contribution Plans.

May 01, 2008 ... n IRS audits. The IRS is looking for mistakes in thousands of defined-contribution plans in industries where large numbers of errors have been detected. Among the ...

Long-Term Outlook for Social Security.

May 01, 2008 ... SOCIAL SECURITY n Long-term outlook. The Social Security trustees note that the projected deficit--the difference between outlays and revenues--over 75 years has declined since last year's report. The improvement ...

Social Security Wage Base to Increase.

May 01, 2008 ... n Wage base to increase. The Social Security wage base is expected to be $106,500 for 2009, up $4,500 from 2008 ....

Online Resource with Medicare Information.

May 01, 2008 ... HEALTH CARE n Medicare information. The Medicare Rights Center offers an online resource that covers all aspects of Medicare at MedicareInteractive.org. Medicare ...