Nevin's Data "Points"

   I recently stumbled into a bit of controversy on LinkedIn.  Honestly, I’m not even sure how this wound up in my “feed” — but there was a post from the  Atlanta Journal-Constitution  on the topic of “micro-retirements.” Now, if you’re like me, you may be wondering — what the heck is a MICRO-retirement?  Turns out that, unlike actual retirement, it’s a series of multiple, intentional “mini-breaks” from work throughout life — rather than waiting until the traditional “big” retirement at the end of a career.  Some of you are going to say — oh, we used to call that a sabbatical. Others might well see this as some kind of extended PTO or vacation break. But those, of course, are generally employer supported/sanctioned, whereas these micro-retirements presumably would not be.  Oh, and none other than  sidehustles.com [i]  (who admittedly might be biased on the subject) claims that 1 in 10 Americans plan to take one this year. That said, it’s...

 The academics are at it again. In a paper provocatively titled “The Life-Cycle Model Implies that Most Young People Should Not Save for Retirement” no fewer than four of them take 48 pages to make that case. The “trade press” breathlessly intoned “ Most Young People Should Not Save For Retirement in Their 401k ,” “ Many young people shouldn’t save for retirement, says research based on a Nobel Prize–winning theory ,” “ Under 35? Don’t Save For Retirement Yet, These Experts Say ,” “ Economists Say Enjoy Your Youth and Save Later .” At least one had the temerity to offer a contrasting viewpoint (see “ A New Paper Says Young People Shouldn't Save for Retirement. Advisors Disagree ”), while The Street at least called it out as “ This May Be the Worst Financial Advice Ever Shared .” Like most research, the conclusion is a premise based on assumptions. Here the most basic is that this thing called a “life-cycle model” is worth considering in the first place. Now, granted, it’s t...

 I’ve been writing a weekly column (and then some) for more than two decades now. Some are easier to write (and read)—and some hold up better (and longer) than others. These are some of  my  (and perhaps your) favorites from 2021. Let me know what you think in the comments below… particularly if I have missed one of your favorites…  What’s So Special About College Debt? Student loan debt—or more precisely, the forgiveness of some part of it—has dominated the headlines of late—but it’s been on the minds of retirement plan sponsors for a while now. The question is—why?  https://www.napa-net.org/news-info/daily-news/whats-so-special-about-college-debt Bundled Versus Unbundled: 5 Myths While there are some amazing bundled solutions, ERISA’s admonition to act solely in the interests of plan participants (and beneficiaries), alongside the requirement that those be reasonable in terms of cost and value, call for a careful and considered evaluation. In t...

I recently stumbled across a provocative article in the  New York Times  with that intriguing headline. Honestly, I laughed out loud (drawing my wife’s quizzical attention on an otherwise quiet Saturday morning) when I read it. I’m a (proud) Boomer, of course, and while Gen X basically slipped quietly into the workplace (much to their frustration), Millennials (to my experience) landed with a bang, upending traditional norms of business and meeting etiquette, demanding a voice that seemed well beyond their experience (and, yes, sometimes knowledge)—and, frustratingly (certainly for those of us who played by a different set of rules at their age), getting it.  So the notion that they were now feeling the same kind of pressures from the  next  generation of workers (a.k.a. Gen Z) was somewhat humorous to me in a “so, how do  you  like it?” kind of way.   Yes, having lived through the not-so-subtle eye-rolling of younger co-workers...

Those “kids” who were just dropped off at college for the first time? By their sophomore year, their generation will constitute one-quarter of the U.S. population. How will their retirement be different? That’s according to the authors of the so-called Mindset List – now housed at Marist College, having relocated from Beloitt College – has been published each August since 1998 . Originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, the list provides a “look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college.” Not to mention those who will go on to be workers and – eventually – retirees. This fall’s college class of 2023 is the first class born in the 21st Century (2001) – and thus lack a personal memory of the September 11 attacks. According to the authors of the Mindset List: This group has never used a floppy disk (heck, they’ve probably never even seen one, except at that “save” icon). Their phone has a...

If you’re still struggling to figure out how to reach Millennials (even if you are a Millennial), take heart – there’s (already) another generational cohort entering the workforce. This new cohort is called Generation Z (at one point, Millennials were referred to as Gen Y, so…) – they are, generally speaking, children of Gen X – born in the mid-1990s, and separated from Millennials by their lack of a memory of 9/11. Gen Z is, in fact, already entering the workforce – and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, they currently comprise a quarter of the population. They are seen as being more “realistic” when it comes to life and working than Millennials, who have been characterized as more “optimistic.” Gen Z is said to be more independent and competitive in their work than the collaborative Millennials, more concerned with privacy (Snapchat versus Facebook), and are said to have a preference for communicating face-to-face. It’s said they’ll eschew racking up big college debt, and are...