Americans Have “Healthy″ Concerns About Retirement

Nearly one-third of Americans say not having enough to pay for health care is the biggest concern facing our nation in retirement.
Nor was that concern relegated to those with lower incomes, according to a new survey from Edward Jones. In fact, those with an income of more than $75,000 are much more concerned about paying for their healthcare later in life (33%) than those with an income of $25,000 (16%), according to the survey.
Not surprisingly, the older the respondent, the more likely they were to be concerned about healthcare costs – 43% of those 55 to 64 years old were concerned, compared with just 10% of younger Americans.
The study, which was conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Edward Jones, also highlighted that one in five respondents said they would have to rely on others to support them in retirement, though only about half that number (11%) of Baby Boomers thought they would have to rely on others.
Only one in ten said they would have to work longer than normally anticipated to fund retirement.

Schwab Acquires The 401(k) Company From Nationwide

Consolidation in the retirement services industry continued Friday with the announcement that the Charles Schwab Corporation will buy The 401(k) Company from Nationwide Financial Services.

According to announcements from Schwab and Nationwide, the $115 million deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter in 2007 with The 401(k) Company set to join the Schwab Investor Services Enterprise, which includes Schwab’s Corporate & Retirement Services division.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

Schwab said The 401(k) Company complements its retirement business strategy, noting it had seen “strong growth” in the small, mid and large retirement plan segments, but that The 401(k) Company had been particularly successful in winning mega-plan segment business. During the past two years, The 401(k) Company’s newly acquired plans have averaged more than $500 million in assets and more than 8,000 participants, according to Schwab.

“Joining forces with The 401(k) Company expands our ability to serve the marketplace,” said James McCool, executive vice president of Schwab’s Corporate & Retirement Services division, in the Schwab press release. “We have been consistently investing in and growing our retirement plan business at Schwab, primarily serving clients in the small, mid and large segments. In addition to this ongoing investment, we are now, for the first time, making a significant investment in serving employers and their employees in the mega plan segment.”

Nationwide said it would be better able to concentrate on its strengths. “This transaction will enable our private-sector business to focus on our core markets, which are small and micro 401(k) plans,” said Mark Thresher, president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Financial, in his firm’s statement. “By sharpening our focus, not only will we better serve this market, but we also will be able to more effectively deploy capital through reinvestment in core businesses.”

When the transaction is complete, Nationwide Financial will administer approximately $26 billion in private-sector retirement plans.

«