As U.S. longevity increases and health care costs soar, many older Americans face the prospect of outliving their retirement resources. Personal health and maintenance expenses are escalating, and more of America’s older adults have little recourse but to use credit for purchasing necessary medicines and even groceries. Moreover, many seniors who had planned on living in a mortgage-free home are finding that rising tax assessments, escalating insurance premiums, and other home maintenance–related costs are claiming a growing portion of their fixed incomes. (more…)

During your working career, your TIAA-CREF accounts will probably appear totally portable, subject to the incongruities between a Group Retirement Account and an Retirement Annuity accumulation. You may find that your investment choices at your new employer are more limited than they were formerly. Of course, when you are working at institution A, its rules will control the amounts of contributions and the vehicles available to you within and without TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF will keep track of all of your Retirement Annuity accumulations in both TIAA and CREF as you move from one institution to the next. (more…)

Among the variety of retirement plans you can pursue, some qualify for tax deferral by the regulations of the federal government, and others don’t. The federal government passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulation in 1974. This legislation and its requirements determine whether a retirement plan offered by employers or an employee organization (such as a union) qualifies for tax deferral of investment and interest until retirement age. (more…)