Are you worried about how the current economic climate will affect your retirement planning? We’re hearing more and more that Gen X and younger need to save more to retire comfortably. And while the market is unpredictable, focusing on long-term planning is more important than short-term market movements.

The 2019 SECURE act and its follow-up, SECURE 2.0, are the largest changes to the U.S. retirement system since the late 1990s. I reviewed both bills and compiled 57 notable retirement changes in the bills, all ranging from small to moderate in scope. Nothing addresses the inherent flaws in the system that go back to the 1970s when our modern retirement system transitioned dramatically. Social Security and troubled employer managed pensions needed bailouts and reform and seemed unprepared to support America’s retirement.

In 2022, the Biden administration announced $36 billion in COVID-19 money would go to Teamster union pensions in the Midwest and Texas. Pension funds are troubled and need fixing. Wall Street, bad regulations, short-term thinking, and mismanagement play a big role. But let’s not assume it’s easy to run a pension. Pensions have the same huge issue you do with your own retirement plan. It’s the number one worry of my clients and the primary reason people seek a financial planner.

Imagine you pass away and leave $75,000 in a bank account (approximately the median inheritance for the 50th-90th percentile of total wealth.) That sum represents money you didn't you didn't need to earn, right? Effectively, says author of 'Die with Zero' Bill Perkins, you worked for 'free'. I would add you might have missed out on experiences. You could have taken an amazing safari or two with that money!

According to Morningstar.com, smaller 401(k) plans, which includes most nonprofit orgs, are paying double the 401(k) fees of larger plans. Smaller 401(k) plans are defined as $25M total plan assets or smaller and make up 27% of the nation's 401(k) assets. Though fees have come down over time, small 401(k) plans have total expenses that are more than double the national retail investor average and larger 401(k) plans. That difference, .47%, doesn't sound like much but it is. In the meantime, how do you find out if your plan is expensive?

Defined-benefit pensions in which the employee usually gets a fixed payment from the day they retire until death used to be the answer. Now they’ve been mostly replaced with the defined-contribution plans most of us know today.  So how much 401(k) would one need to create an equal stream of payments from a pension?

Most 401(k) plans offer ‘target date funds,’ one-stop investment portfolios with a mix of US stocks, international stocks and bonds that automatically get more conservative (fewer stocks, more bonds) as we approach retirement. But it’s not that simple. Here are the four most common mistakes I see with target date funds.

You might think the frothy stock market is a risk for current retirees, and you aren’t wrong. What about historically low bond rates? That’s much less of an issue than people think. Long term care insurance, yeah but at least there is Medicaid as a (terrible) last resort. So what is it?

Have you heard of the SARSA? The ‘Super Awesome Retirement Savings Account?’ No, you haven’t because it doesn’t exist. Instead, it’s stupidly called a ‘Healthcare Savings Account’. Do you have one? Are you maxing it out ($3,600 single, $7,200 family) and not spending it? You should.