MassMutual Announces 2013 Seminar Agenda

MassMutual’s 2013 RetireSmart participant seminar series is focused on helping plan participants take action and make smarter decisions about their finances.

MassMutual’s first live online seminar for 2013 takes place Wednesday, February 13, at 12 p.m. EST. Personal finance, investment and tax adviser Gary Schatsky’s 30-minute presentation, “Finding an Investment Strategy in Uncertain Times,” will help participants make retirement planning improvements, understand how market fluctuations and tax planning may impact their retirement and learn how to become a more confident investor. The session will conclude with a 30-minute interactive question and answer session. Participants may submit questions in advance by posting to the Division’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/retiresmart.     

Remaining topics for the 2013 RetireSmart seminar series (and tentative dates) include: 

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  • March 28, 2013: Understanding Today’s World Economy. To be presented by returning guest speaker Dr. Jerry Webman, Ph.D., CFA, and chief economist for OppenheimerFunds Inc.  
  • May 8, 2013: Do Women Invest Differently? To be presented by returning guest speaker Farnoosh Torabi, an independent Generation Y money coach, best-selling author and personal finance journalist.  
  • June 2013: Are You Insured Enough? To be presented by a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).  
  • August 7, 2013: Save More without BIG Sacrifices. To be presented by Farnoosh Torabi.  
  • October 2013: Estate Planning Forum—Ask the Expert. To be presented by a member of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC). 
  • November 13, 2013: New Rules for Saving Money. To be presented by Farnoosh Torabi.  

Space for these seminars is prioritized to retirement plan sponsors and participants on MassMutual’s platform. MassMutual retirement plan clients can preregister for any upcoming RetireSmart seminar as well as access on-demand replays to past seminars covering a variety of financial topics at www.retiresmartseminars.com.  

For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services, call MassMutual at 1-866-444-2601.

More Account Adjustments Made After Retirement

Households are more likely to make account and investment adjustments at retirement and in the five years following, than in the five years before.

Specifically, 7% of households with a retirement in the past 12 months moved IRA assets from one firm to another, as did 3% of early retiree households, Cerulli Associates found. Four percent of pre-retiree households moved IRA assets from one firm to another.

Cerulli also found 13% of at-retirement households and 7% of early-retiree households rolled over retirement accounts, compared to 4% of pre-retirees. “[Pre-retirees] don’t know what they don’t know, or they’re just not thinking about it yet,” Bing Waldert, director at Cerulli Associates, told PLANADVISER.

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Twelve percent of at-retirement households and 3% of early-retiree households took a lump-sum distribution of a retirement account, versus 1% of pre-retiree households.

“In a best-case scenario, investors would go to their adviser exactly five years before their 65th birthday, statements in hand, ready to plan for their retirement,” Waldert said. “However, research shows that rarely happens for a number of reasons—procrastination, lack of urgency. Retirement doesn’t always occur as a neatly preplanned event.”

Waldert added that some investors are forced to retire earlier than planned because of layoffs or health issues, so they are “shocked” into retirement.

 

(Cont’d…)

The report suggests retirement income products should not only fit into a retirement planning strategy, but work for an investor who has already retired. Cerulli warns asset managers to not only consider how their products fit into a retirement planning strategy, but how they work for an investor who has already retired and is confused. For example, a product that provides guaranteed income immediately could be suitable for the confused early retiree. 

Communication about retirement planning can be a challenge because some investors may simply not care, but Waldert said sponsors and advisers should not be afraid to use a variety of messages through different mediums.

These findings and more are from The Cerulli Edge: U.S. Asset Management Edition, February 2013 issue. To purchase the report, contact CAmarketing@cerulli.com. More information is available here: http://www.cerulli.com/zfiles/pdf/USAME_2-2013_TOC.pdf 

 

 

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