Squared Away Blog

The baby boomers born in the early 1960s, at the tail end of the demographic wave, had about $280,000 in retirement wealth when they reached their early 50s. That’s significantly less – about $50,000 less – than the late-1950s boomers had at the same age. Some of this shortfall might’ve been anticipated for the youngest boomers. Each new crop of boomers has taken a bigger hit in their Social Security checks because the statutory age for collecting the full monthly benefit has been creeping up. The shrinking checks are against the backdrop of dwindling pensions. (Retirement wealth includes the current value of worker’s future Social Security and traditional pension benefits, as well as retirement savings.) But, while Social Security and…

The number of U.S. households ages 70 and over who have written a will has been dropping for at least 20 years, to about two-thirds today. But a new study that looks under the hood of estate planning in this country shows that the matter of whether someone has a will often comes down to race: older Black and Hispanic households are much less likely to have them than non-Hispanic Whites. The researchers also confirm that having a will is crucial to the successful transfer of a meaningful amount of wealth to one’s intended heir or heirs. In this way, wills can be an effective way to ensure that intergenerational wealth is being preserved and passed on within Black and…

The vast majority of workers are in traditional jobs, receiving a regular paycheck from an employer or their own business. But a small and growing number are filling nontraditional jobs, working not as employees but as contractors for all types of businesses or online services such as Uber and Care.com.  In just four years, the share of nontraditional workers increased by a full percentage point, to nearly 5 percent of the U.S. labor force, according to a new study based on U.S. Census data. Because these workers are still only a fraction of workers, little has been known about them. RAND researchers have uncovered new information about who they are. Putting various clues in the data together, they concluded that…

The maiden voyage next January of the 250,800-ton cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, with 20 decks of candy-colored amenities, has sold out. The Cruise Lines International Association predicts the industry’s 2023 passenger volume should exceed 2019 levels. Cruises, after going over a financial cliff during COVID, are back! And so is the credit card debt that pays for cruises. Travel in the form of hotels, airline tickets and cruises, and retail sales of everything from household appliances and glassware to restaurants – these are just some of the ways Americans are continuing a post-COVID spending spree fueled by more than a year of rock-bottom unemployment. Consumers racked up $45 billion more credit card debt in the second quarter, pushing…

U.S. workers’ enthusiasm for saving money for retirement is lukewarm. But that doesn’t go very far in explaining why only three out of every 10 Latino workers are participating in an employer retirement plan, typically a 401(k). The major reason is that most of them do not have a retirement plan because they are employed in low-wage blue-collar or service industries – roofing, dishwashing, food preparation, landscaping, hotels, maid and janitorial services. These types of jobs are often filled by recent or undocumented immigrants and do not include any employee benefits.  The Economic Policy Institute estimates that only four out of 10 Latino workers have a retirement plan in their current jobs. In that light, the bulk of the individuals…

German legislation that increased the federal pension credits given to mothers has influenced their decisions about working in middle age, years after their children were born but long before retirement age. This finding from a recent study adds to what is currently understood about how changes made to future pensions can affect how much workers choose to work now or when to retire. Previous research tended to gauge the impact of pension reforms on individuals who are closing in on their retirement years. This study focuses squarely on the behavior of mothers who are mostly in their early 50s, when workers are just starting to get serious about their retirement plans. The retirement benefits paid to German workers by t…

Too many retirees of color are in the financially precarious state between outright poverty and barely getting by. Far larger shares of the nation’s Latino, Black, Asian, and Native American retirees are financially insecure than Whites, according to a new report confirming the now-familiar racial disparities that face both workers and retirees in this country. But what also stands out in this report, produced by The Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, is the gaping disparity between retired single people and married couples. First, consider older White Americans. They are in the best position financially. Yet about two in five single White retirees are financially insecure, while only one in five couples is. Single Latino retirees are muc…

In COVID’s early months, applications to two of Social Security’s assistance programs fell sharply. The decline was nearly 30 percent in the spring and summer of 2020 for the monthly cash payments from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program to the families of children with disabilities. And applications for disability insurance benefits by adults with disabilities who could no longer work fell by more than 7 percent. Two recent studies reached a similar conclusion about what went on. A major reason for fewer applications was Social Security’s decision to close its field offices during COVID in March 2020, which eliminated the ability to apply in person for the benefits. Specifically, Mathematica researchers found, applications to the SSI and disability insuranc…

The formula for calculating Social Security benefits recognizes that it’s more difficult for lower-paid workers to afford retirement. Their future retirement benefits will replace a higher percentage of their earnings than, say, a corporate executive will receive. But workers in similar jobs who live in expensive coastal cities are at a disadvantage: steep housing costs. Workers’ wages aren’t keeping up with rising house prices, and that inherent disadvantage doesn’t go away when they retire. But this study looks specifically at how well Social Security’s progressive benefit formula protects older Americans in high-cost cities.  Having to pay high housing expenses will put workers who are currently in their mid-50s at only a slight disadvantage when it comes to Social Security benefits…

During COVID, some companies that instituted remote work were almost giddy about the increase in employee productivity. Workers themselves were certainly convinced of this. One interesting aspect of this study may be a clue to the reason for sagging productivity. The least productive day for the data-entry workers at home was Monday, because they were required to come to the office to upload the data they’d entered the previous week and to get their next assignment. Back at home, their hours increased as the work week progressed and spilled into the weekend. The largest blocks of work occurred on Saturday and Sunday – apparently in preparation for going into the office on Monday. The remote workers also started around 10…

For many people, “The only community that is left to support this group is their LGBTQ friends and allies,” said Philippe Saad, an owner of DiMella Shaffer, The Pryde’s design architect. “We’re not building the building and bringing in the people. Knowing who the people are, we are building the building for them,” he said.    DiMella and a national real estate developer, Pennrose, plan to open the 100,000-square-foot renovated school building next spring. More than 900 people have expressed an interest in The Pryde, and the residents will be selected in a lottery for the 74 apartments. Non-LGBTQ retirees are also welcome to apply for residence. Saad’s firm’s specialty is senior living projects that meet the needs of older…

Going back to work after relying on federal disability can be fraught with uncertainty. Some people experience a smooth transition, while others may have trouble becoming self-sufficient after their skills deteriorate and professional contacts dwindle. Researchers at Mathematica examined how people fare in the labor force after their benefits end. This can happen for one of two reasons. First, Social Security stops paying benefits if one of the agency’s periodic medical reviews determines that a health condition has improved to the point where the individual no longer medically qualifies. The second reason is that Social Security limits how much beneficiaries are permitted to earn. In order to encourage them to return to the labor force, the agency provides a set…