A frequently asked question in the retirement industry is, how many accounts should I have at retirement? Should I have a savings account, an investment account and a pension account, or should I have multiple accounts for multiple purposes in multiple places?

I think the question often arises from being told over and over to be diversified in our investments and not to have all our eggs in one basket, meaning that we should spread our money and assets with many companies as opposed to just a single firm. The reasoning behind this is that if something does happen, it will not cause financial ruin. It will only cause mental irritation.

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When an employee has requested a hardship withdrawal from the 401(k) plan and you hear that they are not in true financial need, what do you do? Do you take the word of the person requesting the withdrawal, or demand documentation?

The pertinent point is whether or not the Plan Administrator has “actual knowledge” of the participant’s financial status. In the Final Regulations covering hardship withdrawals, released on September 19, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) addresses that point.

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Four tips to help keep you from overspending

Do you find yourself looking out at your porch more often, wondering when your next Amazon package will arrive? Do you leave the grocery store with a couple more bags than you planned for? Do you feel like sometimes you just want to buy stuff? For almost 16% of Americans, “buying stuff” is an addiction, or what the American Journal of Psychiatry calls a “compulsive habit of buying with significant adverse consequences.”

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Nearly half (48%) of retirement plan participants are either “confident” or “very confident” about achieving a secure retirement by the date they plan to leave the workforce. Yet, 55% of them have saved less than $100,000 toward retirement. The lack of saving doesn’t seem to have dampened their enthusiasm about retiring early, though: 36% expect to retire before age 65. It’s true, those could be among the small number of total workers who have saved at least $250,000 for retirement; perhaps the 22% who expect to work until age 70 (or more) are among those whose savings and confidence about retirement security are relatively low.

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A Strategic Saving Plan is the Key to Victory

Super Bowl LIV, the 54th Super Bowl, will decide the National Football League champion for this current season. The game is scheduled to be played on February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be performing at halftime. In the meantime, you’re still trying to figure out how much you should be saving for retirement.

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For decades now the typical career has consisted of approximately 40 years spent working, an “on time” retirement at age 65, and perhaps a decade spent enjoying the so-called golden years. But with better health leading to longer life spans, retirement now may last much longer — and require much more money. Today, employers and employees alike recognize that four decades of saving for a retirement that may last four more decades is, to say the least, challenging.

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