Jane Blume’s story is one many middle-aged Americans can relate to: Her aging parent was beginning to run out of money. The money her mother spent her whole life saving was quickly dwindling. When Social Security was no longer enough to help Blume’s mother cover her bills, maintain her home and pay for her every-day expenses, she suggested her mom apply for a reverse mortgage.

“Older Americans born in the pre-war era have a stigma about reverse mortgages,” says Eric Declercq, national retail leader for reverse mortgages at MetLife. “They [don't] want to strip their equity.” Read the rest of this entry »

Since the recession has staved off inflation to a great degree, 2010 will be the first year that there will be no cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the some 50 million Americans on Social Security.  “Recessions drive down prices by nature,” said HSH VP Keith Gumbinger.

In order “to preserve beneficiaries’ purchasing power,” President Obama has proposed to issue a second $250 stimulus check to America’s “seniors, veterans, retired railroad workers and people with disabilities.”

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As Social Security becomes a fading backstop of the past, baby boomers and the even younger generations have come to rely heavily on 401(k) savings accounts as a tool to save for retirement. Social Security was once a substantial supplement to most retirees, but living expenses have outstripped Social Security payouts, taxpayers are forced to rely on different strategies for savings.

Robert Reynolds, Chief Executive of Putnam Investments, along with various other industry insiders and policymakers, are calling for broad retirement-savings reform. Reynolds says that, based on the 401(k)’s dominance as the primary retirement-savings tool, and the fact that, according to the Wall Street Journal, American workers lost $2 trillion in last year’s market downturns, the 401(k) has shown “holes,” and stands to be greatly improved.

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The perfect companion to zero-percent financing — zero-percent savings:

The U.S. Treasury Department set a zero percent earnings rate Friday for its Series I savings bonds bought from May through October 2009.

The earnings rate includes a fixed rate, set at 0.1%, and the annualized rate of inflation over the next six months, which was -5.56% between September 2008 and March 2009. The earnings rate is never less than zero.

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