Inside these posts: Retirement

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Poll: Most Baby Boomers have retirement fears

Baby boomers are starting to retire, but many are agonizing about their finances and believe they’ll need to work longer than they had planned, a new poll finds. Get the full story »

Country lowers retirement age to 58

Bucking a global trend, leftist-led Bolivia is lowering its retirement age and nationalizing its pension funds. Bolivia’s Congress approved legislation early Friday to make Bolivians eligible for full pensions at age 58. The country’s 70,000 miners will get to retire two years earlier. Get the full story »

RV industry rebounding, led by smaller trailers

An RV makes its way over the Golden Gate Bridge the day before Thanksgiving. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

American families are ready to hitch up their trailers and tow the RV industry out of its worst stretch in nearly two decades.

The industry was driven into the ditch last year by the recession. Sales plunged, plants closed and thousands of jobs were cut as orders for recreational vehicles dropped to their worse level since 1991.

Now, RV makers such as Winnebago are starting to turn profits and have begun to hire. And dealers are ordering more RVs for their showrooms. Get the full story »

IRA, 401(k) minimum withdrawals required again

Older Americans whose retirement accounts took a beating from the market’s downturn caught a break last year when the government suspended rules that required them to make annual withdrawals.

But now that the markets are starting to come back, Uncle Sam wants his share again. Get the full story »

It’s official: No Social Security increase, again

Social Security beneficiaries will see no increase in their benefit checks next year, the federal government said on Friday. For more than 58 million seniors and other Social Security beneficiaries, 2011 will mark the second in a row without an inflation adjustment. Get the full story »

Young investors shun stocks, risk

Only 22 percent of investors under the age of 35 say they’re willing to take on a substantial level of risk, according to the Investment Company Institute. Compare that with 2001, when that same group outpaced every other age bracket.

“We’re coming off a series of financial crises that hit this young generation at points in their lives where external events shape strong opinions,“ said Christopher Geczy, adjunct associate professor of finance at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Get the full story »

401(k) hardship withdrawals at 10-year high

In the wake of news about a spike in new applications for unemployment benefits comes another potentially troubling sign: A record number of workers made hardship withdrawals from their retirement accounts in the second quarter.

What’s more, the number of workers borrowing from their accounts reached a 10-year high, according to a report issued Friday by Fidelity Investments. Get the full story>>

PBGC takes over Sun-Times pensions

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has assumed control of seven pension plans covering workers and retirees of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, a move which is expected to cost the pension guarantor some $49 million. Get the full story »