Nevin's Data "Points"

  A recent article in The Wall Street Journal was titled “ Here’s What Retirement With Less Than $1 Million Looks Like in America.”  And it’s better than one might expect. The individuals in this particular  piece  were a diverse group — indeed, the only real point of commonality was they all had less than $1 million in retirement savings. In view of the ubiquitous headlines proclaiming impending retirement destitution, one might well have expected tales of doom and gloom, though that wasn’t the case here. [i]  There WERE, of course, stories of folks keeping an eye on costs, not travelling as much as they had expected, and in at least one case, deciding to stay put, rather than relocate to a warmer climate … but overall, these five — with savings ranging from $240,000 to $800,000 [ii]  — seemed to be in a good place — and half didn’t even wait till 65 to retire (though all chose their retirement time). This is NOT the narrative that garners headlines (and c...

Back when I was in school (OK, so it was  way  back), there were these little red fire alarm boxes strategically placed throughout the building. Their purpose was clearly indicated in big white letters… but, inevitably, as the school year wound to a close…   Well, it seemed that someone was always pulling those levers, and no, not because of any actual fire—but rather because some hapless soul had been pressured to create a nuisance, but more commonly just because some upper classman was looking to avoid a test for which they weren’t prepared, or wanted to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Initially these emergency calls got the expected response, and we all dutifully filed down the stairs and out to our designated areas. And, sure enough, by the time the building was evacuated, the premises sufficiently investigated, and the student body returned to our respective classrooms—well, it left little time for actual instruction, for a period, at leas...

A recent headline  in  The Wall Street Journal  started off: “Forget the 401(k).” And then, unintentionally, proceeded to explain why that would be… nuts. Not that the author (Jason Zweig) didn’t throw in some digs at the subject, making a glancing reference to what he termed “the rigid and often paltry 401(k)s that workers have today” before going on to berate America’s retirement plan, dismissively claiming that “there’s little question that the 401(k) as we know it just isn’t getting the job done.” That, of course, depends on what one considers “the job” – though, to his credit - and I generally appreciate Jason's perspectives - he didn’t fall into the common journalistic device  of pining for the “good old days of the defined benefit plan.” Quite the contrary, he bluntly proclaims (in language that one rarely sees attributed to DB plans) that even in their heyday, “defined-benefit plans were, in fact, sporadic, arbitrary and unfair.” (This is a ...